What Machinists earn in Pierce County, WI
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $62,070: the median annual pay for Machinists in Pierce County, WI. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $29.84 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $63,000, which is 1.5% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 9,420 people working in this occupation across the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Pierce County, WI has roughly 42,584 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Machinists in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $47,500 a year ($22.84 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $80,430 or more ($38.67 an hour). That is a gap of $32,930 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $51,060 at the 25th percentile and $75,500 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.7 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: $29.84 an hour or $62,070 a year at the median for Pierce County, WI. Before any deductions, that is $5,173 a month, $2,387 every two weeks and $1,194 each week. After taxes the same job pays $23.97 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Machinists
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Machinists this way: "Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders"; "Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers"; "Align and secure holding fixtures, cutting tools, attachments, accessories, or materials onto machines"; "Monitor the feed and speed of machines during the machining process".
Job outlook for Machinists
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 288,300 jobs in 2025 to 291,200 in 2035, a change of +1%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 26,100 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 9.1% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: long-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $58,750 for this occupation; the Pierce County, WI median of $62,070 is 5.7% above it.
How pay in Pierce County, WI compares
Compared with the Wisconsin average
A worker in this occupation in Pierce County, WI earns $1,854 more than the Wisconsin average of $60,216, a premium of 3.1%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,854 before tax and roughly $1,490 after tax. Within Wisconsin, Pierce County, WI already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Machinists is $57,760 across the contiguous United States. At $62,070, Pierce County, WI pays $4,310 more, which is 7.5% 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 Pierce County, WI
Among the 586 occupations with published wages in Pierce County, WI, Machinists ranks number 346 by median pay, ahead of about 41% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $178,080 a year, which is $116,010 more than the median for Machinists.
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 Machinists earning the Pierce County, WI median of $62,070, they add up to $12,206. The result is $49,864 of take-home pay a year ($4,155 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $20 goes to taxes and $80 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 19.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $46,320. 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 $5,320, an effective 8.6% 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 $3,848 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $900. FICA totals $4,748, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Wisconsin
Wisconsin income tax on this salary is $2,137 a year, or 3.4% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 40% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $178 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 Pierce County, WI
IRS Statistics of Income data for Pierce County, WI show an average adjusted gross income of $90,196 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.3% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.5%, compared with the 8.6% 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 Pierce County, WI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Pierce County, WI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $49,864 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Pierce County, WI, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,427 a month ($17,124 a year), and at $1,734 for two bedrooms. For Machinists, a one-bedroom absorbs 34.3% of take-home pay and 27.6% 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 5.5% of gross pay for Machinists in Pierce 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 $24,287 a year in Pierce County, WI. Subtract that from $49,864 of take-home pay and $25,577 remains, which is $2,131 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 41.2% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Pierce County, WI
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Pierce 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 Pierce County, WI, set beside the Wisconsin and national medians.
Property taxes in Pierce County, WI
Homeowners in Pierce County, WI pay a median of $4,551 a year in real estate taxes, 20% above the Wisconsin median of $3,792 and 46% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $333,700, the median tax bill is 1.36% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Machinists median of $62,070, a tax bill of that size would equal 7.3% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Pierce County, WI
Renters in Pierce County, WI pay a median gross rent of $1,044 a month in the Census survey, 4% below the Wisconsin median of $1,087. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,427 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 $333,700, 25% above the Wisconsin median of $266,500. Median household income is $92,109, 19% above the Wisconsin median of $77,485, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 18.6% of that income.
Commuting in Pierce County, WI
Workers in Pierce County, WI who travel to a workplace spend an average of 26.8 minutes each way, 21% above the Wisconsin average of 22.2. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.5 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 12.8% of workers in Pierce County, WI work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Machinists afford to live in Pierce 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 $62,070 that ceiling is $1,552 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,427 is $125 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $27.44 an hour; the median for Machinists is $29.84, which is 9% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $23.97 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 13.7 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,734 a month means $867 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,720 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $32,297.
How fast you can save
At $2,131 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 5 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 10 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Machinists pay in Pierce County, WI
How much do Machinists make per hour in Pierce County, WI?
The median is $29.84 per hour, based on $62,070 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $22.84 at the 10th percentile to $38.67 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Machinists take home after taxes in Pierce County, WI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $62,070 becomes $49,864 a year. That is $4,155 a month, $1,918 every two weeks or $959 a week.
How much tax do Machinists pay in Pierce County, WI?
Total taxes are $12,206 a year, an effective rate of 19.7%: $5,320 federal income tax, $4,748 FICA and $2,137 Wisconsin income tax.
Do Machinists earn more in Pierce County, WI than elsewhere in Wisconsin?
Yes. The local median of $62,070 is +3.1% versus the Wisconsin average of $60,216, a difference of $1,854 a year.
Can Machinists afford a one-bedroom apartment in Pierce County, WI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,427 a month against take-home pay of $4,155, which is 34.3% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,552 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Machinists in Pierce County, WI?
About $2,131 a month ($25,577 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $24,287 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Pierce County, WI at the 30% guideline?
$27.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $17,124 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Machinists is $29.84.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-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.