Telephone Operators Salary
In Wisconsin, telephone operators earn $46,590 at the median, or about $22.4 an hour. The range runs from $39K at the entry level to $49K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 94.33), which stretches that salary to about $49,390 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,202/month, about 37.8% of take-home, which is tight.
Statewide average. This is an aggregate across all of Wisconsin. BLS does not publish metro-level data for this occupation in this state.
So what does $47K get you in Wisconsin?
About telephone operators
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What this looks like in Wisconsin
Wisconsin sits well above the national pay line for telephone operators, local pay runs about 12% higher than the U.S. median of $42K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,202/month, which is 37.9% 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. The pay premium is real, but so are the offsets.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Wisconsin
Entry-level telephone operators (10th percentile) start around $39K. Mid-career wages sit at $47K. Top earners bring in $49K or more, a $10K spread from bottom to top.
Compare to other states
Track telephone operators salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Wisconsin numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a telephone operator afford a 2BR apartment alone in Wisconsin?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $47K, rent takes 37.9% 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 $1,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for telephone operators in Wisconsin?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new telephone operators typically earn — is $39K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,336/month. At HUD’s $1,202/month FMR, rent would take 51% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is telephone operator a high-paying job in Wisconsin?
Local pay is 12% above the national median — $47K here vs. $42K nationally.
How does Wisconsin compare to the national average for telephone operators?
Wisconsin pays $47K median vs. the U.S. average of $42K — that’s +12%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 94.33), the purchasing-power equivalent is $49K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do telephone operators make in Wisconsin?
The median is $46,590 a year, that works out to about $22 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $38,940, and experienced telephone operators can clear $48,520. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $47K enough to live in Wisconsin?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,171/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,202/month, which eats 37.9% 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 telephone operators 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 telephone operators salary is worth about $49,390 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do telephone operators 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.