Wisconsin·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1242

Best Database Administrator programs in Wisconsin, ranked by enrollment

Administer, test, and implement computer databases, applying knowledge of database management systems. Coordinate changes to computer databases.

33 schools in Wisconsin run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,011 people a year. The job pays a median of $100,020 in Wisconsin across about 1,220 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDatabase AnalystDatabase Administrator (DBA)Database Administration ManagerSystems Administrator (Systems Admin)Data MinerData EngineerDatabase TesterDatabase Manager
Graduates / yr
2,011
in Wisconsin
Median pay · Wisconsin
$100,020
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,220
people employed
Schools
33
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
53%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,844
per year, IPEDS

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.

3 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.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0101In Wisconsin
1,630
81.1%
15$57,986$24,286
2
CIP 11.1003In Wisconsin
375
18.6%
23$48,185$25,250
3
CIP 11.0802In Wisconsin
6
0.3%
1$33,504$27,000

Top 25 schools in Wisconsin

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 33 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
1,200Computer and Information Sciences, General$80,56690%45%
2University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Whitewater, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
83Computer and Information Sciences, General$52,99559%86%
3Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
81Computer and Information Sciences, General$70,53083%$25,37681%
4University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Eau Claire, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
75Computer and Information Sciences, General$73,32164%82%
5Madison Area Technical College
Madison, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
49Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$54,78429%
6University of Wisconsin - Parkside
Kenosha, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
45Computer and Information Sciences, General40%75%
7University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
La Crosse, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
44Computer and Information Sciences, General$65,24371%76%
8Fox Valley Technical College
Appleton, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
43Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$43,90965%
9University of Wisconsin - Platteville
Platteville, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
42Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance56%89%
10University of Wisconsin - River Falls
River Falls, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
40Computer and Information Sciences, General57%82%
11Gateway Technical College
Kenosha, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
32Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$36,38951%
12University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
Oshkosh, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
29Computer and Information Sciences, General46%87%
13Waukesha County Technical College
Pewaukee, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
29Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$46,45044%
14Moraine Park Technical College
Fond du Lac, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
25Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance58%
15Northcentral Technical College
Wausau, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
24Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$42,27145%
16Lakeland University
Plymouth, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
18Computer and Information Sciences, General$72,78942%$20,76786%
17Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
18Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance25%
18Western Technical College
La Crosse, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
18Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$45,07734%
19Lakeshore Technical College
Cleveland, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
14Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance50%
20Northwood Technical College
Rice Lake, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
14Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$41,47356%
21Carthage College
Kenosha, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Computer and Information Sciences, General64%$22,84487%
22Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
Green Bay, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
12Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance51%
23University of Wisconsin - Superior
Superior, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
12Computer and Information Sciences, General42%93%
24Southwest Wisconsin Technical College
Fennimore, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
10Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance66%
25Edgewood University
Madison, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Computer and Information Sciences, General60%$23,82276%

All 33 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.

All schools in Wisconsin that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Wisconsin - MadisonMadisonPublic1,2002
University of Wisconsin - WhitewaterWhitewaterPublic832
Marquette UniversityMilwaukeePrivate not-for-profit811
University of Wisconsin - Eau ClaireEau ClairePublic751
Madison Area Technical CollegeMadisonPublic491
University of Wisconsin - ParksideKenoshaPublic451
University of Wisconsin - La CrosseLa CrossePublic442
Fox Valley Technical CollegeAppletonPublic431
University of Wisconsin - PlattevillePlattevillePublic422
University of Wisconsin - River FallsRiver FallsPublic402
Gateway Technical CollegeKenoshaPublic321
University of Wisconsin - OshkoshOshkoshPublic292
Waukesha County Technical CollegePewaukeePublic291
Moraine Park Technical CollegeFond du LacPublic251
Northcentral Technical CollegeWausauPublic241

What database administrators earn in Wisconsin

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Wisconsin
$100,020
Mean annual
$103,890
Jobs in state
1,220
What the range looks like
10th pct$62,440Median$100,02090th pct$149,430
Versus the national median
-4.4%

U.S. median $104,620. Wisconsin pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.92×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Wisconsin

Kenosha, WI
$105,400median
50 jobs
Green Bay, WI
$103,990median
40 jobs
Madison, WI
$105,680median
410 jobs
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
$101,510median
310 jobs
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
$98,990median
30 jobs
Eau Claire, WI
$88,460median
40 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-0.7%
Little or no change
Openings per year
3,800
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-500
78,000 → 77,500
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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 Database Administrators page.

How to become a Database Administrator

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

Critical ThinkingActive ListeningReading ComprehensionActive LearningSpeakingWriting

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 3 majors mapped to Database Administrators3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.0802Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing database administrators programs in Wisconsin.

What degree do you need to become a Database Administrator?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer and Information Sciences, General, which awarded 1,630 degrees in Wisconsin in 2024-25, 81.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Database Administrator?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, Computer Software and Media Applications. Together they graduate about 2,011 people a year in Wisconsin.

How much do database administrators earn in Wisconsin?+

The median is $100,020 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.4% below the U.S. median of $104,620. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for database administrators growing?+

BLS projects a -0.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 3,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Wisconsin?+

33 institutions in Wisconsin reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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 database administrators work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Database Analyst, Database Administrator (DBA), Database Administration Manager, Systems Administrator (Systems Admin) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1242.

Database Administrators in other statesTexasGeorgiaUtahFloridaVirginiaNew YorkMarylandCalifornia

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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