Payroll Specialist salary in Madison, WI

Pay in Madison against Wisconsin and the US

The middle half of payroll specialists in Madison earns $54,220–$69,010. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $82,460, only 1.8 times the bottom tenth, against 2.1 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. The mean ($63,080) is no higher than the median, so few high earners skew the figures here. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $14,790 wide, against $16,130 across Wisconsin and $21,610 nationally: employers in Madison pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a payroll specialist here

Local pay is bunched just above the median: the 75th percentile is only $5,510 over it, while the 25th sits $9,280 below. Moving an offer from the median to the 75th percentile costs about $7,110 more a year with benefits. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $58,260 falls between the 25th percentile and the median in Madison, and the Wisconsin statewide median of $59,310 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Madison

At the $63,500 median, a local hire costs about $81,935 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $18,435 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for payroll specialists we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Madison

Of the 17 roles we track in Madison, this one ranks #8 by median pay, between sales development representatives ($65,840) and paralegals ($60,800). Project Coordinator is the highest at $98,990.

Measured against the US median, payroll specialists rank #2 of the 17 roles we track in Madison (+9.0%), between virtual receptionists (+14.7%) and office managers (+8.3%). The typical role here is at +0.4%, so, measured against the US, payroll specialists cost more in Madison than the area's general pay level would suggest. Payroll specialists hold 0.8% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Madison, 0.9% across Wisconsin and 1.0% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Wisconsin

Across the 17 areas of Wisconsin with data for this job, the median runs from $50,100 in the Northwestern Wisconsin nonmetro area to $64,690 in Oshkosh-Neenah, a gap of $14,590 a year. The one area in Wisconsin with more payroll specialists, Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI ($60,510), pays less: a bigger pool at a lower median.

Madison against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Madison is #65 of 482 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job and one of the better-paying ones. Outside Wisconsin, Rochester and Wenatchee-East Wenatchee pay just above Madison and New York-Newark and Washington-Arlington just below. All four are within $180 a year of the median in Madison. Of the three markets with about as many payroll specialists, none pays as much.

Questions

Sources

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