Business

HR Manager Salary in Wisconsin (2026)

The average HR Manager in Wisconsin earns around $136,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $98,357/year ($8,196/month).

Take-Home Pay Breakdown

CategoryAmount
Annual Take-Home Pay
$98,357
Monthly Take-Home Pay
$8,196
Biweekly Take-Home Pay
$3,783
Hourly Take-Home Pay

based on 2,080 hrs/year

$47/hr
Federal Tax
$21,374
State Tax
$5,865
FICA Taxes
$10,404
Effective Tax Rate

total taxes ÷ gross salary

27.68%
Estimates only — not tax advice. · Full disclaimer →

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HR Manager Salary Ranges in Wisconsin

Entry Level (0–3 yrs)

$96,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Mid Level (3–7 yrs)

$136,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Senior Level (7+ yrs)

$200,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Not all HR Managers earn the same — not even close

Wisconsin's HR manager market is anchored by Northwestern Mutual HQ Milwaukee (Fortune 100, ~7,500 employees), Harley-Davidson HQ Milwaukee (~5K Juneau Ave + Pilgrim Road manufacturing HR), Johnson Controls Milwaukee (Fortune 100 building automation HR), Kohl's HQ Menomonee Falls (~30K stores nationally retail HR), Kimberly-Clark HQ Neenah (Fortune 200 CPG HR), Kohler Company HQ Kohler (private kitchen + bath, ~36K global employees), Schreiber Foods Green Bay (private dairy/cheese ~10K employees), plus Aurora Advocate + Froedtert + UW Health healthcare HR.

CHRO / EVP HR

$365,000–$885,000+ TC

NM CHRO · Harley CHRO · Kohl's CHRO · Johnson Controls CHRO · Fortune 500 executive comp

VP HR / Senior Director

$215,000–$385,000+ TC

Fortune 500 VP HR · WI insurance + retail + manufacturing · senior HRBP leadership

Senior HRBP (Insurance / Financial)

$125,000–$200,000

NM HRBP · American Family HRBP · Fiserv HRBP · CUNA Mutual · Baird · advisor + investment HR

Senior HRBP (Manufacturing)

$120,000–$190,000

Harley · Johnson Controls · Rockwell · Briggs · Snap-on · plant HR + skilled trades + IAM Local 78 specialty

Senior HRBP (Healthcare)

$118,000–$195,000

Aurora Advocate · Froedtert · Marshfield · UW Health · Magnet + nurse retention specialty

Senior HRBP (Retail)

$118,000–$185,000

Kohl's HRBP · field-HR + DC + multi-site retail · ~30K nationally store HR

Senior Total Rewards / Compensation

$135,000–$215,000

Fortune 500 comp + benefits · executive comp + equity admin · CCP credential premium

Senior Talent Acquisition Manager

$108,000–$175,000

NM TA · Harley TA · Epic Verona TA (high-volume CS recruiting from UW + Big Ten) · executive search

Senior Labor Relations Manager

$120,000–$200,000

IAM Local 78 Harley + USW industrial · WI post-2015 RTW + post-2011 Act 10 public sector specialty

Mid-Level HR Manager (3-6 yrs)

$78,000–$118,000

Functional HR manager at WI Fortune 500 · transitioning to senior band

Worth knowing: Wisconsin's 2015 Act 1 Right-to-Work + 2011 Act 10 public-sector collective bargaining limitations are the most distinctive structural HR features for the upper Midwest and a feature most national HR-career surveys understate for WI. WI joined RTW in 2015 via Act 1 (post-Walker administration, controversial passage after legislative battles) — moving WI from non-RTW alignment with MN/IL/MI to RTW alignment with IN/IA/SD/ND. WI's 2011 Act 10 (Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, signed June 2011) severely limited public-sector collective bargaining rights — public-sector unions in WI can only negotiate base wages limited to CPI, can no longer negotiate benefits or working conditions, and require annual recertification votes. The combined Act 10 + Act 1 effect substantially reshaped WI public + private HR — supporting different labor-relations work vs MN/MI/IL. Northwestern Mutual HQ Milwaukee CHRO + Harley-Davidson HR continue to anchor private-sector HR. Aurora Advocate Health (post-2018 merger ~74K combined employees across WI + IL) operates one of the country's largest health system HR organizations. WI's 7.65% top bracket catches CHRO + VP HR comp at $300K+ TC but is substantially lower than MN's 9.85%.

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