Payroll Specialist salary in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

Pay in Milwaukee-Waukesha against Wisconsin and the US

The middle half of payroll specialists in Milwaukee-Waukesha earns $52,090–$67,640. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $76,630, only 1.8 times the bottom tenth, against 2.1 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. The mean ($60,410) 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 $15,550 wide, against $16,130 across Wisconsin and $21,610 nationally: employers in Milwaukee-Waukesha pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a payroll specialist here

The step from the 25th percentile to the median is $8,420 a year; from the median to the 75th it is $7,130, or about $9,200 once benefits are added. 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha, and the Wisconsin statewide median of $59,310 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Milwaukee-Waukesha

At the $60,510 median, a local hire costs about $78,077 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $17,567 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 Milwaukee-Waukesha

Of the 17 roles we track in Milwaukee-Waukesha, this one ranks #8 by median pay, between sales development representatives ($64,890) and paralegals ($60,340). Project Coordinator is the highest at $100,350.

Measured against the US median, payroll specialists rank #5 of the 17 roles we track in Milwaukee-Waukesha (+3.9%), between medical administrative assistants (+5.7%) and e-commerce order specialists (+2.8%). The typical role here is at -1.3%, so, measured against the US, payroll specialists cost more in Milwaukee-Waukesha than the area's general pay level would suggest. Payroll specialists hold 0.8% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Milwaukee-Waukesha, 0.9% across Wisconsin and 1.0% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

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. No other area in Wisconsin has as many payroll specialists, and 13 of the other 16 pay less.

Milwaukee-Waukesha against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Milwaukee-Waukesha is #41 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, Staunton-Stuarts Draft and Bozeman pay just above Milwaukee-Waukesha and Corvallis and Charlottesville just below. All four are within $290 a year of the median in Milwaukee-Waukesha. Of the three markets with about as many payroll specialists, none pays as much.

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