File Clerks Salary
File Clerks in Wisconsin make a median of $45,130 a year, or about $21.7 an hour. The range runs from $31K at the entry level to $61K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 94.33), which stretches that salary to about $47,843 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,202/month, about 39% of take-home, which is tight.
Statewide average. Salary and cost of living vary significantly across Wisconsin. Jump to a metro for precise data:
So what does $45K get you in Wisconsin?
About file clerks
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What this looks like in Wisconsin
File clerks pay in Wisconsin tracks closely to the national median, $45K locally vs. $44K nationwide, a 4% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,202/month, which is 39% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Regional Price Parity sits at 94.33 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 6% cheaper here. Your dollar stretches further than the headline salary suggests. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Wisconsin
Entry-level file clerks (10th percentile) start around $31K. Mid-career wages sit at $45K. Top earners bring in $61K or more, a $30K spread from bottom to top.
File Clerks salary by metro in Wisconsin
11 metro areas with BLS data, ranked by median pay
| Metro area | Median salary | vs. state | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse-Onalaska | $50K | +10% | 30 |
| Madison | $47K | +5% | 210 |
| Janesville-Beloit | $47K | +5% | 60 |
| Racine-Mount Pleasant | $47K | +5% | 50 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha | $46K | +2% | 400 |
| Appleton | $46K | +2% | 50 |
| Kenosha | $46K | +1% | 30 |
| Green Bay | $45K | +1% | 60 |
| Sheboygan | $44K | -2% | 60 |
| Wausau | $42K | -7% | 50 |
| Oshkosh-Neenah | $39K | -15% | 80 |
Showing 1–10 of 11 metros
Compare to other states
Track file clerks salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Wisconsin numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a file clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in Wisconsin?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $45K, rent takes 39% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,202/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $900/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for file clerks in Wisconsin?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new file clerks typically earn — is $31K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,882/month. At HUD’s $1,202/month FMR, rent would take 64% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is file clerk a high-paying job in Wisconsin?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $45K locally vs. $44K nationally, a 4% difference.
How does Wisconsin compare to the national average for file clerks?
Wisconsin pays $45K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s +4%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 94.33), the purchasing-power equivalent is $48K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do file clerks make in Wisconsin?
The median is $45,130 a year, that works out to about $22 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $31,370, and experienced file clerks can clear $61,160. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $45K enough to live in Wisconsin?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,080/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,202/month, which eats 39% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a file clerks salary go in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin has a Regional Price Parity of 94.33 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median file clerks salary is worth about $47,843 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do file clerks get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.