Healthcare

Physical Therapist Salary in Wisconsin (2026)

The average Physical Therapist in Wisconsin earns around $98,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $73,922/year ($6,160/month).

Take-Home Pay Breakdown

CategoryAmount
Annual Take-Home Pay
$73,922
Monthly Take-Home Pay
$6,160
Biweekly Take-Home Pay
$2,843
Hourly Take-Home Pay

based on 2,080 hrs/year

$36/hr
Federal Tax
$12,730
State Tax
$3,851
FICA Taxes
$7,497
Effective Tax Rate

total taxes ÷ gross salary

24.57%
Estimates only — not tax advice. · Full disclaimer →

Want to model 401(k), HSA, or pre-tax contributions against your full salary? Open the salary calculator

1099 contract work or side gigs? Self-employment tax adds 15.3% on top. Open the 1099 tax calculator

Got a year-end bonus, sign-on, or retention payout? See the bonus calculator

Working overtime? The 2025 OBBBA deduction may save you up to $12,500 on federal tax. Open the No Tax on Overtime calculator

Key terms:···

Physical Therapist Salary Ranges in Wisconsin

Entry Level (0–3 yrs)

$78,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Mid Level (3–7 yrs)

$98,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Senior Level (7+ yrs)

$135,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Not all Physical Therapists earn the same — not even close

Wisconsin's physical therapist market is anchored by Aurora Sports Medicine + Orthopedic Institute (Milwaukee + suburban Aurora Sports Medicine clinics — Aurora Advocate is one of the largest sports medicine practices in the upper Midwest), Froedtert + MCW rehabilitation services Milwaukee (academic medical center rehab), UW Health Sports Medicine + Rehabilitation Madison, Marshfield Clinic rehab services rural WI, ThedaCare rehab + Bellin Health rehab Appleton/Green Bay, plus Children's Wisconsin Day Therapy (pediatric Magnet pediatric rehab).

Senior PT (Sports Medicine)

$98,000–$135,000

Aurora Sports Medicine + UW Health Sports Medicine + private sports PT · post-op + return-to-sport

Senior PT (Orthopedic / Spine)

$92,000–$128,000

Aurora + Froedtert + UW + Marshfield ortho rehab · spine + joint replacement post-op specialty

Senior PT (Neurologic / SCI / TBI)

$92,000–$128,000

Froedtert + UW Neuro Rehab · Wheaton Franciscan All Saints Racine · SCI + TBI + stroke specialty

Senior PT (Pediatric)

$88,000–$120,000

Children's Wisconsin Day Therapy · American Family Children's · MCW Pediatrics · developmental specialty

Senior PT (Cardiac / Pulmonary Rehab)

$88,000–$120,000

Aurora St. Luke's + Froedtert + UW · post-MI + heart failure + COPD rehab

Senior PT (Acute Care / ICU)

$92,000–$128,000

Froedtert + UW Health + Aurora acute care PT · early mobility + ICU PT specialty

Senior PT (Geriatric / Home Health)

$85,000–$118,000

Home health + SNF PT · LHC Group WI · senior staff band

Mid-Career PT (3-7 yrs)

$75,000–$95,000

Functional staff PT at WI health system · transitioning to senior band

New Grad DPT (0-2 yrs)

$65,000–$85,000

Marquette DPT + UW-Madison DPT + UW-La Crosse DPT + Concordia DPT pipeline · entry band

PT Director / Clinic Manager

$108,000–$155,000

Clinic + outpatient PT operations leadership · WI Fortune 500 health system

Worth knowing: Aurora Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Institute is one of the largest sports medicine practices in the upper Midwest and a feature most national PT-career surveys understate for WI. Aurora Sports Medicine (post-2018 Aurora Advocate merger, ~50 clinic sites across WI with substantial physical therapy + athletic training + orthopedic specialty practice, official team medical provider for the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team + Milwaukee Brewers MLB team + Marquette Athletics) operates substantial sports medicine PT supporting senior sports PTs at $98-135K TC. Marquette University DPT Milwaukee is one of the largest DPT-granting institutions in WI (alongside UW-Madison DPT + UW-La Crosse DPT + Concordia DPT). Froedtert + MCW Milwaukee operates substantial academic rehab including PM&R residency training. UW Health Madison operates one of the country's top academic rehabilitation programs — UW Health Rehabilitation is consistently top-30 nationally. Marshfield Clinic Health System operates substantial rural-WI rehab across 60+ clinic sites. WI's 7.65% top bracket has limited impact on PT comp — most senior PT comp lands $90-130K so the WI bracket impact is moderate, but the WI/MN delta is meaningful at PT director / DPT-faculty levels.

Calculate Your Exact Take-Home Pay

Add 401(k) contributions, HSA, dependents, and more to see your personalized take-home.

Open Full Calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about your taxes and our calculator.

Compare Two States

See how income tax, take-home pay, and total tax burden differ between any two US states side by side.

State 1

State 2

Physical Therapist Salary in Other States

More on Wisconsin