What Software Developers earn in Milwaukee County, WI
The median pay for Software Developers in Milwaukee County, WI is $123,730 per year, which works out to $59.49 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metropolitan area, the labor market that Milwaukee 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 $120,680, which is 2.5% below the median, which suggests many workers sit near the top of the pay scale. The survey counts about 6,170 people working in this occupation across the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Milwaukee County, WI has roughly 926,331 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Software Developers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $77,740 a year ($37.38 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $164,660 or more ($79.16 an hour). That is a gap of $86,920 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $99,990 at the 25th percentile and $138,590 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.1 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: $59.49 an hour or $123,730 a year at the median for Milwaukee County, WI. Before any deductions, that is $10,311 a month, $4,759 every two weeks and $2,379 each week. After taxes the same job pays $43.32 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Software Developers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Software Developers this way: "Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis. Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance requirements. May maintain databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system"; "Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints"; "Confer with data processing or project managers to obtain information on limitations or capabilities for data processing projects"; "Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces".
Job outlook for Software Developers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 1,717,800 jobs in 2025 to 1,892,600 in 2035, a change of +10.2%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 95,300 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 5.5% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $135,980 for this occupation; the Milwaukee County, WI median of $123,730 is 9.0% below it.
How pay in Milwaukee County, WI compares
Compared with the Wisconsin average
Pay in Milwaukee County, WI runs $2,799 below the Wisconsin average of $126,529, a gap of 2.2%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of Wisconsin would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within Wisconsin, the highest median we track for this job is $130,920 in St. Croix County, WI.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Software Developers is $146,295 across the contiguous United States. At $123,730, Milwaukee County, WI pays $22,565 less, which is 15.4% 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 Milwaukee County, WI
Among the 523 occupations with published wages in Milwaukee County, WI, Software Developers ranks number 36 by median pay, ahead of about 93% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $125,490 a year, which is $1,760 more than the median for Software Developers.
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 Software Developers earning the Milwaukee County, WI median of $123,730, they add up to $33,633. The result is $90,097 of take-home pay a year ($7,508 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $27 goes to taxes and $73 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 27.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $107,980. 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 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $18,762, an effective 15.2% of gross pay, well below the 24% 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 $7,671 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,794. FICA totals $9,465, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Wisconsin
Wisconsin income tax on this salary is $5,405 a year, or 4.4% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 29% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $450 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 Milwaukee County, WI
IRS Statistics of Income data for Milwaukee County, WI show an average adjusted gross income of $73,173 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.5% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.3%, compared with the 15.2% 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 Milwaukee County, WI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Milwaukee County, WI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $90,097 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Milwaukee 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 Software Developers, a one-bedroom absorbs 14.1% of take-home pay and 10.3% 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 2.8% of gross pay for Software Developers in Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee County, WI. Subtract that from $90,097 of take-home pay and $70,214 remains, which is $5,851 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 56.7% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Milwaukee County, WI
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee County, WI, set beside the Wisconsin and national medians.
Property taxes in Milwaukee County, WI
Homeowners in Milwaukee County, WI pay a median of $4,444 a year in real estate taxes, 17% above the Wisconsin median of $3,792 and 42% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $230,700, the median tax bill is 1.93% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Software Developers median of $123,730, a tax bill of that size would equal 3.6% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Milwaukee County, WI
Renters in Milwaukee County, WI pay a median gross rent of $1,101 a month in the Census survey, 1% 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 $1,060 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 $230,700, 13% below the Wisconsin median of $266,500. Median household income is $64,435, 17% below the Wisconsin median of $77,485, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 19.7% of that income.
Commuting in Milwaukee County, WI
Workers in Milwaukee County, WI who travel to a workplace spend an average of 22.2 minutes each way, in line with the Wisconsin average of 22.2. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 3.7 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 14.4% of workers in Milwaukee County, WI work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Software Developers afford to live in Milwaukee 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 $123,730 that ceiling is $3,093 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,060 is $2,033 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 Software Developers is $59.49, which is 192% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $43.32 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 5.6 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 $75,356.
How fast you can save
At $5,851 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Software Developers pay in Milwaukee County, WI
How much do Software Developers make per hour in Milwaukee County, WI?
The median is $59.49 per hour, based on $123,730 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $37.38 at the 10th percentile to $79.16 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Software Developers take home after taxes in Milwaukee County, WI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $123,730 becomes $90,097 a year. That is $7,508 a month, $3,465 every two weeks or $1,733 a week.
How much tax do Software Developers pay in Milwaukee County, WI?
Total taxes are $33,633 a year, an effective rate of 27.2%: $18,762 federal income tax, $9,465 FICA and $5,405 Wisconsin income tax.
Do Software Developers earn more in Milwaukee County, WI than elsewhere in Wisconsin?
No. The local median of $123,730 is -2.2% versus the Wisconsin average of $126,529, a difference of $2,799 a year.
Can Software Developers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Milwaukee County, WI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,060 a month against take-home pay of $7,508, which is 14.1% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,093 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Software Developers in Milwaukee County, WI?
About $5,851 a month ($70,214 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 Milwaukee 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 Software Developers is $59.49.
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.