Wisconsin Apprenticeship Programs
As of September 2026, Wisconsin operates one of the larger registered-apprenticeship systems in the country: 34,000 active apprentices in 1,250 programs, with completion pay near $29.80/hour.
- Active apprentices
- 34,000
- National rank
- #7 / 51
- Completion rate
- 63.5%
- Completion wage
- $30
Wisconsin ranks #7 of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 4% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 63.5% completion rate sits 5.3 pts above the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 83% - from $16 to $30 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction WI · Wisconsin
Wisconsin registered-apprenticeship filing: 34,000 active apprentices (rank 7/51), 1,250 programs, 63.5% completion.
- BOOK-LARGE 34,000
- RANK-UPPER #7
- PROG-MID 1,250
- COMP-HIGH 63.5%
- WAGE-STRONG +83%
- SHARE-MID 4%
- NEW-FY 8,800
Nearest enrollment peer: Michigan (3,000 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: apprenticeships vs college
Where Wisconsin sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction; Wisconsin sits in the top tercile. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
Wisconsin vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
34,000 7th of 51 higher than 44 of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-09-25
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading Wisconsin's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: completion
If one figure defines this system it is follow-through: 63.5% completion, better than 94% of states.
Where the scale sits
34,000 active apprentices rank 7 of 51 nationally, 4% of all registered enrollment.
Fewer, larger programs
The state's 1,250 registered programs average 27.2 apprentices each, above the 23.6 national norm — enrollment concentrates in larger sponsors rather than spreading across many small ones.
Strong wage progression
Wages move further here than in most states: $16.25/hour at entry to $29.80 at completion, a 83.4% climb versus the 82.7% national norm.
Steady intake
A 25.9% intake ratio (8,800 new apprentices this fiscal year) keeps Wisconsin in the middle tercile for pipeline speed.
Wisconsin's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Plumber 27%
- Carpenter 28%
- Iron Worker -
- HVAC Mechanic -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does Wisconsin have?
34,000 active registered apprentices — rank 7 of 51 jurisdictions — spread over about 1,250 registered programs.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in Wisconsin?
63.5% — 5.3 points above the 58.2% national average, one of the stronger completion records among the states.
How much do apprentices earn in Wisconsin?
Starting pay averages $16.25/hour and completion pay $29.80 — a 83.4% increase, among the strongest wage progressions of any state.
What are the top apprenticeship trades in Wisconsin?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for Wisconsin are Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter, Iron Worker, HVAC Mechanic — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
Why does Wisconsin have so few programs for its size?
Because its sponsors run large: 27.2 apprentices per program on average, top-tercile nationally — the same enrollment needs fewer registered programs.
Compare other states
Put these numbers to use
Use Wisconsin's apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Weigh an apprenticeship path against a college degree with real wage and growth numbers. Apprenticeships vs college
- Browse the full occupation directory to check wage and AI exposure for a specific trade. Browse all occupations
- Through 2034, these are the occupations projected to add the most jobs. Fastest-growing occupations
Enrollment and completion vary by program and year; these figures come from the U.S. Department of Labor's Registered Apprenticeship data.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).