Best Computer Programmer programs in Wisconsin, ranked by enrollment
Create, modify, and test the code and scripts that allow computer applications to run. Work from specifications drawn up by software and web developers or other individuals.
38 schools in Wisconsin run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,085 people a year. The job pays a median of — in Wisconsin across about 3,080 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
12 programs in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Wisconsin (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Wisconsin page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 11.0701In Wisconsin → | 363 | 33.5% | 16 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 2 | Computer Programming/Programmer, Generalmain feeder CIP 11.0201In Wisconsin → | 337 | 31.1% | 14 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 3 | CIP 52.1201In Wisconsin → | 179 | 16.5% | 10 | $59,352 | $24,618 |
| 4 | CIP 11.0804In Wisconsin → | 63 | 5.8% | 1 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 5 | Computer Programming, Specific Applicationsmain feeder CIP 11.0202In Wisconsin → | 62 | 5.7% | 4 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 6 | CIP 11.0902In Wisconsin → | 26 | 2.4% | 3 | $43,901 | $22,822 |
| 7 | CIP 30.3001In Wisconsin → | 16 | 1.5% | 3 | $50,745 | $27,000 |
| 8 | CIP 11.0203In Wisconsin → | 12 | 1.1% | 2 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 9 | Computer Game Programmingmain feeder CIP 11.0204In Wisconsin → | 9 | 0.8% | 1 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 10 | CIP 30.7101In Wisconsin → | 9 | 0.8% | 2 | — | — |
| 11 | CIP 30.7199In Wisconsin → | 8 | 0.7% | 2 | — | — |
| 12 | CIP 51.0709In Wisconsin → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
Top 25 schools in Wisconsin
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 15 of the 38 schools in this state.
All 38 schools in Wisconsin
Every school in Wisconsin with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Public | 230 | 2 |
| Chippewa Valley Technical College | Eau Claire | Public | 114 | 1 |
| Milwaukee Area Technical College | Milwaukee | Public | 80 | 3 |
| Waukesha County Technical College | Pewaukee | Public | 68 | 3 |
| University of Wisconsin - Stout | Menomonie | Public | 63 | 1 |
| University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire | Eau Claire | Public | 50 | 1 |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering | Milwaukee | Private not-for-profit | 47 | 2 |
| University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison | Public | 40 | 2 |
| Fox Valley Technical College | Appleton | Public | 37 | 2 |
| University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh | Oshkosh | Public | 36 | 2 |
| University of Wisconsin - Green Bay | Green Bay | Public | 34 | 2 |
| Marquette University | Milwaukee | Private not-for-profit | 26 | 3 |
| Gateway Technical College | Kenosha | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Northeast Wisconsin Technical College | Green Bay | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Northcentral Technical College | Wausau | Public | 17 | 2 |
What computer programmers earn in Wisconsin
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Concentrated here: Wisconsin employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Wisconsin
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Computer Programmers page.
How to become a Computer Programmer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Wisconsin
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 17 majors mapped to Computer Programmers17 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0201Computer Programming/Programmer, General
- 11.0202Computer Programming, Specific Applications
- 11.0203Computer Programming, Vendor/Product Certification
- 11.0204Computer Game Programming
- 11.0205Computer Programming, Specific Platforms
- 11.0299Computer Programming, Other
- 11.0701Computer Science
- 11.0803Computer Graphics
- 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
- 11.0902Cloud Computing
- 15.1204Computer Software Technology/Technician
- 30.3001Computational Science
- 30.7101Data Analytics, General
- 30.7103Data Visualization
- 30.7199Data Analytics, Other
- 51.0709Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant
- 52.1201Management Information Systems, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing computer programmers programs in Wisconsin.
What degree do you need to become a Computer Programmer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 363 degrees in Wisconsin in 2024-25, 33.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer Programmer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 12 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Programming, Computer Science, Management Information Systems and Services, Computer Software and Media Applications, plus 4 more. Together they graduate about 1,085 people a year in Wisconsin.
Is demand for computer programmers growing?+
BLS projects a -6.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 5,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Wisconsin?+
38 institutions in Wisconsin reported graduates from at least one of the 12 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do computer programmers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Programmer, Analyst Programmer, Programmer Analyst, Computer Programmer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1251.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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