Average Salaries in Wausau, WI
Explore salaries across 266 occupations in Wausau, WI. The average median wage across all tracked occupations is $61.3K, -0.5% vs the national average. See the highest-paying roles, where the jobs are, and how local wages compare to the rest of the country.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates. Coverage: 266 occupations and 64,480 total jobs in Wausau, WI.
How the metro compares
Wages in Wausau, WI track close to the national average. Pay for most occupations here is similar to what workers earn nationally.
Wausau, WI is a smaller metro labor market. Some occupations may have limited local demand.
The highest-paid occupation tracked here is Chief Executives. Drill into any occupation below to see its local pay distribution, employment, and how it compares to the national market.
Top-paying and largest occupations in Wausau, WI
Two different lenses on the local labor market: which occupations pay the most, and which employ the most workers. The highest-paid list tends to favor specialized professional and technical roles. The largest list reflects where the everyday jobs actually are.
Top wages
Highest-paid occupations in Wausau, WI
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executives | $236.7K | 80 |
| Dentists, General | $208.5K | 60 |
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $144.8K | 120 |
| Financial Managers | $134.7K | 300 |
| Physician Assistants | $132.0K | 70 |
| Pharmacists | $130.1K | 110 |
| Human Resources Managers | $128.5K | 80 |
| Nurse Practitioners | $127.4K | 150 |
| Sales Managers | $125.9K | 200 |
| Purchasing Managers | $125.2K | 60 |
Most jobs
Largest occupations in Wausau, WI
| Occupation | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous Assemblers And Fabricators | 2,270 | $45.5K |
| Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand | 1,830 | $43.9K |
| Cashiers | 1,730 | $29.5K |
| Retail Salespersons | 1,640 | $32.4K |
| Registered Nurses | 1,570 | $79.0K |
| Heavy And Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 1,370 | $57.0K |
| Home Health And Personal Care Aides | 1,330 | $35.4K |
| Office Clerks, General | 1,270 | $41.6K |
| Fast Food And Counter Workers | 1,230 | $27.9K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 1,190 | $45.9K |
What Wausau, WI specializes in
The location quotient measures how concentrated an occupation is here compared to the national average. A value above 1.00 means the occupation is more common in Wausau, WI than in the country as a whole, which signals what this metro is known for.
Location quotient
Most concentrated occupations in Wausau, WI
| Occupation | Location quotient | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Food Batchmakers | 15.32 | $46.2K |
| Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Except Sawing | 13.94 | $40.1K |
| Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders | 9.56 | $59.6K |
| Coating, Painting, And Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders | 6.44 | $47.4K |
| Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Wood | 5.88 | $40.4K |
| Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, And Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic | 5.64 | $39.3K |
| Structural Metal Fabricators And Fitters | 5.59 | $52.3K |
| Mechanical Drafters | 4.92 | $59.1K |
| Cutting, Punching, And Press Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic | 4.74 | $48.5K |
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, And Brazers | 4.72 | $53.4K |
Peer markets
Comparable metros
| Metro | Average median | Highest-paid occupation |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $90.4K | Training And Development Managers |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $89.2K | Natural Sciences Managers |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $81.4K | Nurse Anesthetists |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $80.1K | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $78.4K | Nurse Anesthetists |
| Vallejo, CA | $77.4K | Lawyers |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $77.2K | Podiatrists |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $77.1K | Neurologists |
Common salary questions for Wausau, WI
What does "average median" mean? +
It is the average of all occupation-level medians in this area. It gives a rough sense of the overall wage level here compared to other states or metros, but it is not the same as a household income figure or a single blended salary.
What is a location quotient? +
A location quotient (LQ) compares how concentrated an occupation is in this area versus the national average. An LQ of 2.0 means the occupation is twice as concentrated here as it is nationally. High-LQ occupations are what this area specializes in.
How are comparable areas selected? +
Peer areas are other metros with a similar overall wage level and employment size. They give you a quick sense of how this area ranks among places with a comparable labor market.