Food Preparation Workers Salary in Milwaukee, WI

Food Preparation Workers pay range in Milwaukee

New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $28,250 a year or less, while the top 10% make $43,920 or more. The middle half of food preparation workers in Milwaukee earn between $30,310 and $38,560.

*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.

Food Preparation Workers salary after taxes in Milwaukee

On the average salary of $35,080, a single filer in Milwaukee takes home about $29,525 a year, or $2,460 a month and $1,136 every two weeks. Taxes take 16% of gross pay.

Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2026 rules).

Is Milwaukee a good place for food preparation workers? Pay vs. cost of living

Prices in the Milwaukee area are 3% below the U.S. average (BEA price parity 96.9), so the average $35,080 buys what about $36,188 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 0.7 times the median wage of all jobs in Milwaukee ($51,160). A typical home costs $390,238, or 11.1 years of this average salary before tax.

See what $35,080 is worth in another city

Food Preparation Workers salary in other Wisconsin cities

Milwaukee ranks 2nd of 13 Wisconsin metro areas for this job; Madison pays the most ($36,760).

All Food Preparation Workers salaries in Wisconsin

Highest-paying cities for food preparation workers

Kahului, HI pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($48,150).

Food Preparation Workers salary by city

Related jobs in Milwaukee

• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria$40,430 a year
• Cooks, Restaurant$37,810 a year
• Cooks, Short Order$30,170 a year
• Cooks, Fast Food$28,930 a year
• Chefs and Head Cooks$66,360 a year
• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$43,780 a year
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant$35,800 a year
• Waiters and Waitresses$35,250 a year

Average salary in Milwaukee and every job