Wisconsin energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Wisconsin

Wisconsin plants pay 10.46 cents per kWh for industrial power as of Jul 2026, which puts the state 7.1% over the national average and 34 of 51 in the country, counting from the cheapest.

Current prices in Wisconsin

  • Industrial electricity: 10.46 cents per kWh (Jul 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Wisconsin typically pays: 13.93 cents per kWh.
  • Industrial natural gas: 6.44 per Mcf (Jul 2026), 40.6% above the national average.
  • Just below Wisconsin on the price ladder: Nevada at 10.04, Virginia at 10.07, Minnesota at 10.34 cents. Just above: New York at 10.81, Ohio at 10.95, Pennsylvania at 11.04 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 4,184 in electricity at Wisconsin rates versus 3,908 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 20,920 versus 19,540, and at 200 kW it is 83,680 versus 78,160.
  • 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 462,000 manufacturing workers as of Aug 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 2026-09-30.