What Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earn in Kenosha County, WI
According to the latest federal wage data for the Kenosha, WI metropolitan area, the median pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Kenosha County, WI is $46,990 a year, or $22.59 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $38,547 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Kenosha County, WI.
The mean wage is $48,700, which is 3.6% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 5,420 people working in this occupation across the Kenosha, WI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Kenosha County, WI has roughly 168,438 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in the Kenosha, WI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $36,920 a year ($17.75 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $58,320 or more ($28.04 an hour). That is a gap of $21,400 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $44,120 at the 25th percentile and $56,860 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 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: $22.59 an hour or $46,990 a year at the median for Kenosha County, WI. Before any deductions, that is $3,916 a month, $1,807 every two weeks and $904 each week. After taxes the same job pays $18.53 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand this way: "Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor. Includes all manual laborers not elsewhere classified."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Read work orders or receive oral instructions to determine work assignments or material or equipment needs"; "Move freight, stock, or other materials to and from storage or production areas, loading docks, delivery vehicles, ships, or containers, by hand or using trucks, tractors, or other equipment"; "Maintain equipment storage areas to ensure that inventory is protected".
Job outlook for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 2,940,300 jobs in 2025 to 2,991,900 in 2035, a change of +1.8%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 340,500 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 11.6% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $40,240 for this occupation; the Kenosha County, WI median of $46,990 is 16.8% above it.
How pay in Kenosha County, WI compares
Compared with the Wisconsin average
A worker in this occupation in Kenosha County, WI earns $1,848 more than the Wisconsin average of $45,142, a premium of 4.1%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,848 before tax and roughly $1,516 after tax. Within Wisconsin, the highest median we track for this job is $47,320 in St. Croix County, WI.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $41,056 across the contiguous United States. At $46,990, Kenosha County, WI pays $5,934 more, which is 14.4% 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 Kenosha County, WI
Among the 243 occupations with published wages in Kenosha County, WI, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand ranks number 167 by median pay, ahead of about 31% 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 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earning the Kenosha County, WI median of $46,990, they add up to $8,443. The result is $38,547 of take-home pay a year ($3,212 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 18.0%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $31,240. 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 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,510, an effective 7.5% of gross pay, well below the 12% 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 $2,913 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $681. FICA totals $3,595, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Wisconsin
Wisconsin income tax on this salary is $1,338 a year, or 2.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 38% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $112 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 Kenosha County, WI
IRS Statistics of Income data for Kenosha County, WI show an average adjusted gross income of $78,829 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.9% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.2%, compared with the 7.5% 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 Kenosha County, WI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Kenosha County, WI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $38,547 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Kenosha County, WI, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,144 a month ($13,728 a year), and at $1,441 for two bedrooms. For Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, a one-bedroom absorbs 35.6% of take-home pay and 29.2% 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 7.3% of gross pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Kenosha 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 $20,891 a year in Kenosha County, WI. Subtract that from $38,547 of take-home pay and $17,656 remains, which is $1,471 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 37.6% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Kenosha County, WI
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Kenosha County, WI: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Kenosha County, WI, set beside the Wisconsin and national medians.
Property taxes in Kenosha County, WI
Homeowners in Kenosha County, WI pay a median of $4,179 a year in real estate taxes, 10% above the Wisconsin median of $3,792 and 34% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $265,500, the median tax bill is 1.57% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand median of $46,990, a tax bill of that size would equal 8.9% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Kenosha County, WI
Renters in Kenosha County, WI pay a median gross rent of $1,219 a month in the Census survey, 12% above the Wisconsin median of $1,087. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,144 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $265,500, in line with the Wisconsin median of $266,500. Median household income is $81,239, 5% above the Wisconsin median of $77,485, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 16.9% of that income.
Commuting in Kenosha County, WI
Workers in Kenosha County, WI who travel to a workplace spend an average of 25.1 minutes each way, 13% above the Wisconsin average of 22.2. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.2 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 10.7% of workers in Kenosha County, WI work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand afford to live in Kenosha 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 $46,990 that ceiling is $1,175 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,144 is $31 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.00 an hour; the median for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $22.59, which is 3% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $18.53 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 14.2 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,441 a month means $721 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,082 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $22,738.
How fast you can save
At $1,471 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 7 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 14 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand pay in Kenosha County, WI
How much do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand make per hour in Kenosha County, WI?
The median is $22.59 per hour, based on $46,990 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.75 at the 10th percentile to $28.04 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand take home after taxes in Kenosha County, WI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $46,990 becomes $38,547 a year. That is $3,212 a month, $1,483 every two weeks or $741 a week.
How much tax do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand pay in Kenosha County, WI?
Total taxes are $8,443 a year, an effective rate of 18.0%: $3,510 federal income tax, $3,595 FICA and $1,338 Wisconsin income tax.
Do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earn more in Kenosha County, WI than elsewhere in Wisconsin?
Yes. The local median of $46,990 is +4.1% versus the Wisconsin average of $45,142, a difference of $1,848 a year.
Can Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand afford a one-bedroom apartment in Kenosha County, WI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,144 a month against take-home pay of $3,212, which is 35.6% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,175 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Kenosha County, WI?
About $1,471 a month ($17,656 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $20,891 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Kenosha County, WI at the 30% guideline?
$22.00 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $13,728 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $22.59.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Kenosha, 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.