What Registered Nurses earn in Dane County, WI
According to the latest federal wage data for the Madison, WI metropolitan area, the median pay for Registered Nurses in Dane County, WI is $101,190 a year, or $48.65 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $75,527 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Dane County, WI.
The mean wage is $100,430, which is 0.8% below the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 10,650 people working in this occupation across the Madison, WI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Dane County, WI has roughly 572,674 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Registered Nurses in the Madison, WI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $81,760 a year ($39.31 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $123,240 or more ($59.25 an hour). That is a gap of $41,480 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $87,270 at the 25th percentile and $103,150 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.5 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $48.65 an hour or $101,190 a year at the median for Dane County, WI. Before any deductions, that is $8,433 a month, $3,892 every two weeks and $1,946 each week. After taxes the same job pays $36.31 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Dane County, WI compares
Compared with the Wisconsin average
A worker in this occupation in Dane County, WI earns $3,714 more than the Wisconsin average of $97,476, a premium of 3.8%. Over a year that premium is worth $3,714 before tax and roughly $2,772 after tax. Within Wisconsin, Dane County, WI already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Registered Nurses is $99,368 across the contiguous United States. At $101,190, Dane County, WI pays $1,822 more, which is 1.8% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Dane County, WI
Among the 480 occupations with published wages in Dane County, WI, Registered Nurses ranks number 70 by median pay, ahead of about 86% of them.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Registered Nurses earning the Dane County, WI median of $101,190, they add up to $25,663. The result is $75,527 of take-home pay a year ($6,294 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $25 goes to taxes and $75 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 25.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $85,440. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $13,711, an effective 13.5% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $6,274 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,467. FICA totals $7,741, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Wisconsin
Wisconsin income tax on this salary is $4,211 a year, or 4.2% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 31% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $351 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Dane County, WI
IRS Statistics of Income data for Dane County, WI show an average adjusted gross income of $107,406 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.5% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.4%, compared with the 13.5% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Dane County, WI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Dane County, WI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $75,527 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Dane County, WI, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,375 a month ($16,500 a year), and at $1,565 for two bedrooms. For Registered Nurses, a one-bedroom absorbs 21.9% of take-home pay and 16.3% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 3.4% of gross pay for Registered Nurses in Dane County, WI. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Wisconsin residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,816 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $393, for $2,209 in total. Gasoline in Wisconsin averages $3.28 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,518.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $23,663 a year in Dane County, WI. Subtract that from $75,527 of take-home pay and $51,864 remains, which is $4,322 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 51.3% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Registered Nurses afford to live in Dane County, WI?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $101,190 that ceiling is $2,530 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,375 is $1,155 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $26.44 an hour; the median for Registered Nurses is $48.65, which is 84% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $36.31 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 8.7 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,565 a month means $783 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,110 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $58,974.
How fast you can save
At $4,322 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Registered Nurses pay in Dane County, WI
How much do Registered Nurses make per hour in Dane County, WI?
The median is $48.65 per hour, based on $101,190 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $39.31 at the 10th percentile to $59.25 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Registered Nurses take home after taxes in Dane County, WI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $101,190 becomes $75,527 a year. That is $6,294 a month, $2,905 every two weeks or $1,452 a week.
How much tax do Registered Nurses pay in Dane County, WI?
Total taxes are $25,663 a year, an effective rate of 25.4%: $13,711 federal income tax, $7,741 FICA and $4,211 Wisconsin income tax.
Do Registered Nurses earn more in Dane County, WI than elsewhere in Wisconsin?
Yes. The local median of $101,190 is +3.8% versus the Wisconsin average of $97,476, a difference of $3,714 a year.
Can Registered Nurses afford a one-bedroom apartment in Dane County, WI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,375 a month against take-home pay of $6,294, which is 21.8% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,530 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Registered Nurses in Dane County, WI?
About $4,322 a month ($51,864 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $23,663 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Dane County, WI at the 30% guideline?
$26.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $16,500 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Registered Nurses is $48.65.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Madison, WI metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Wisconsin rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.