What Office Clerks, General earn in Waukesha County, WI
The median pay for Office Clerks, General in Waukesha County, WI is $44,040 per year, which works out to $21.17 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metropolitan area, the labor market that Waukesha County, WI belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $43,630, which is 0.9% below the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 14,820 people working in this occupation across the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Waukesha County, WI has roughly 411,762 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Office Clerks, General in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $24,960 a year ($12.00 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $60,970 or more ($29.31 an hour). That is a gap of $36,010 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $34,580 at the 25th percentile and $51,250 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.4 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: $21.17 an hour or $44,040 a year at the median for Waukesha County, WI. Before any deductions, that is $3,670 a month, $1,694 every two weeks and $847 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.47 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Waukesha County, WI compares
Compared with the Wisconsin average
Pay in Waukesha County, WI runs $2,474 below the Wisconsin average of $46,514, a gap of 5.3%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of Wisconsin would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within Wisconsin, Waukesha County, WI already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Office Clerks, General is $44,586 across the contiguous United States. At $44,040, Waukesha County, WI pays $546 less, which is 1.2% below 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 Waukesha County, WI
Among the 523 occupations with published wages in Waukesha County, WI, Office Clerks, General ranks number 435 by median pay, ahead of about 17% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $125,490 a year, which is $81,450 more than the median for Office Clerks, General.
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 Office Clerks, General earning the Waukesha County, WI median of $44,040, they add up to $7,707. The result is $36,333 of take-home pay a year ($3,028 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 17.5%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $28,290. 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 $3,156, an effective 7.2% 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 $2,730 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $639. FICA totals $3,369, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Wisconsin
Wisconsin income tax on this salary is $1,182 a year, or 2.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 37% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $98 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 Waukesha County, WI
IRS Statistics of Income data for Waukesha County, WI show an average adjusted gross income of $125,488 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.6% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.6%, compared with the 7.2% 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 Waukesha County, WI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Waukesha County, WI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $36,333 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Waukesha County, WI, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,060 a month ($12,720 a year), and at $1,263 for two bedrooms. For Office Clerks, General, a one-bedroom absorbs 35.0% of take-home pay and 28.9% 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 7.8% of gross pay for Office Clerks, General in Waukesha 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 $19,883 a year in Waukesha County, WI. Subtract that from $36,333 of take-home pay and $16,450 remains, which is $1,371 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 37.4% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Office Clerks, General afford to live in Waukesha 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 $44,040 that ceiling is $1,101 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,060 is $41 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $20.38 an hour; the median for Office Clerks, General is $21.17, which is 4% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.47 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 14.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,263 a month means $632 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,142 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $21,592.
How fast you can save
At $1,371 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 8 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 16 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Office Clerks, General pay in Waukesha County, WI
How much do Office Clerks, General make per hour in Waukesha County, WI?
The median is $21.17 per hour, based on $44,040 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $12.00 at the 10th percentile to $29.31 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Office Clerks, General take home after taxes in Waukesha County, WI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $44,040 becomes $36,333 a year. That is $3,028 a month, $1,397 every two weeks or $699 a week.
How much tax do Office Clerks, General pay in Waukesha County, WI?
Total taxes are $7,707 a year, an effective rate of 17.5%: $3,156 federal income tax, $3,369 FICA and $1,182 Wisconsin income tax.
Do Office Clerks, General earn more in Waukesha County, WI than elsewhere in Wisconsin?
No. The local median of $44,040 is -5.3% versus the Wisconsin average of $46,514, a difference of $2,474 a year.
Can Office Clerks, General afford a one-bedroom apartment in Waukesha County, WI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,060 a month against take-home pay of $3,028, which is 35.0% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,101 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Office Clerks, General in Waukesha County, WI?
About $1,371 a month ($16,450 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $19,883 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Waukesha County, WI at the 30% guideline?
$20.38 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $12,720 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Office Clerks, General is $21.17.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Milwaukee-Waukesha, 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.