Cost of hiring in Appleton, WI

Median pay by role in Appleton

The employer pays more than the wage: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², so a $45,760 median for customer support specialists, the largest of these jobs here, comes to about $59,045 a year. That is an estimate: benefit levels vary by employer.

Appleton against the US

Appleton pays above the US median for 5 of the 17 roles, most of all for virtual receptionists (+6.0%) and e-commerce order specialists (+5.0%), and below it for 9, furthest for marketing specialists (-17.3%). For administrative assistants, bookkeepers and office managers it is within 1% of the US figure. The middle gap across all 17 is -1.1%: for most of these roles, hiring costs less here than at the US median. Its best national standing is for e-commerce order specialists, #38 of 287 areas by median pay; its lowest is for recruiters, #335 of 521.

Compared with the US mix of these jobs, Appleton has more virtual receptionists (9.7% of these jobs here, against 5.7% nationally) and e-commerce order specialists (0.7% against 0.5%), and fewer medical administrative assistants (1.2% against 6.1%) and executive assistants (1.1% against 2.9%). Metro areas in other states with the closest overall pay level, measured the same way, are listed below; Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY is nearest, at -1.1%.

How far pay spreads inside each role

From the 10th to the 90th percentile, sales development representatives in Appleton span $39,900–$120,200, the widest band (3.0×); medical administrative assistants the narrowest, $39,120–$59,640. Offers cluster nearer the median than nationally for 14 of 17 roles, marketing specialists most ($43,390–$155,480 across the US). Budget from the median for sales development representatives, accountants and recruiters: a few well-paid jobs lift the average ($73,490 against a $62,840 median for sales development representatives).

Appleton against Wisconsin

Against Wisconsin as a whole, Appleton pays more for 4 of 17 roles, led by data entry specialists (+7.1%) and payroll specialists (+1.6%), and less for 9, most of all recruiters (-9.8%). It has the highest median in Wisconsin for e-commerce order specialists.

Other areas in Wisconsin

By jobs in these roles, Appleton is #6 of 17 areas in Wisconsin. The table shows the areas closest to it in size, from Milwaukee-Waukesha to Racine-Mount Pleasant.

Questions

Sources

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.