Wisconsin energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Wisconsin

Wisconsin plants pay 9 cents per kWh for industrial power as of May 2026, which puts the state 3.3% over the national average and 25 of 51 in the country, counting from the cheapest.

Current prices in Wisconsin

  • Industrial electricity: 9 cents per kWh (May 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Wisconsin typically pays: 13.68 cents per kWh.
  • Industrial natural gas: 4.42 per Mcf (May 2026), 3.5% above the national average.
  • Just below Wisconsin on the price ladder: North Dakota at 8.27, Oregon at 8.55, Florida at 8.99 cents. Just above: Indiana at 9.08, Wyoming at 9.12, Nebraska at 9.25 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 3,600 in electricity at Wisconsin rates versus 3,484 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 18,000 versus 17,420, and at 200 kW it is 72,000 versus 69,680.
  • Wisconsin sits mid-pack for power cost, so energy is neither a site-selection advantage nor a penalty. Estimates built on national averages will land close here, though demand charges and rate schedules still swing the real bill.

What factory labor pays in Wisconsin

  • Industrial engineers: $46.62/hr median in Wisconsin versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $35.98/hr median in Wisconsin versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Tool and die makers: $32.75/hr median in Wisconsin versus $30.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial machinery mechanics: $32.03/hr median in Wisconsin versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Machinists: $28.42/hr median in Wisconsin versus $28.24 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Welders, cutters, and brazers: $28.08/hr median in Wisconsin versus $25.84 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Wisconsin employs about 461,000 manufacturing workers as of Jun 2026 (BLS).

Manufacturing base in Wisconsin

  • Wisconsin has 8,479 manufacturing establishments employing about 479,846 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
  • Largest sectors by establishment count: fabricated metal products (1,904), food manufacturing (1,040), machinery manufacturing (942), machine shops (677), printing and related support (591).

Sources and update cadence

  • Prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and refresh automatically when the agency publishes; this page also archives each month's Wisconsin observation so the local price history deepens over time.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.