Healthcare Jobs in Milwaukee, WI
Healthcare employs a larger share of Milwaukee workers than the national average, and clinical workers here average $56.62 an hour. Froedtert, Aurora St. Luke's, Ascension and Children's Wisconsin are all hiring. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring and how to get in.
Current healthcare Openings in Milwaukee, WI
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Healthcare Work in Milwaukee
Milwaukee leans on healthcare more than the country as a whole. Federal wage data for May 2025 puts 7.2 percent of metro jobs in clinical and technical healthcare work, against 6.3 percent nationally, and another 6.0 percent in healthcare support. The work clusters in a few places: the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus on Watertown Plank Road at the Wauwatosa line, home to Froedtert Hospital, Children's Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin; the south side, where Aurora St. Luke's sits on Oklahoma Avenue and Ascension St. Francis on South 16th Street; the East Side, with Ascension Columbia St. Mary's on Lake Drive; and the Milwaukee VA Medical Center on National Avenue.
The local market is also shifting. Ascension has been consolidating southeast Wisconsin services since late 2024, moving cardiac cath labs to Columbia St. Mary's and centralizing inpatient behavioral health at St. Francis, so where a job sits can change faster here than the system names suggest.
Top Milwaukee Employers Hiring Healthcare Workers
These five systems run the city's major hospitals and post nursing and clinical openings on their own careers sites:
- Froedtert Hospital - the flagship of the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin network on the Regional Medical Center campus, recruiting nurses at every experience level plus LPN and clinic staff.
- Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center - Advocate Health's south side hospital, posting RN, new-grad RN and LPN roles with published pay ranges.
- Ascension Wisconsin - runs Columbia St. Mary's, St. Francis and St. Joseph in the city and hires med-surg nurses, including PRN night shifts at St. Francis.
- Children's Wisconsin - the pediatric hospital on Connell Avenue, hiring emergency department trauma nurses and float nurses for clinics from Greenfield to Fox Point.
- Milwaukee VA Medical Center - the Clement J. Zablocki VA on National Avenue, which recruits RNs, LPNs and CNAs and posts its openings on USAJOBS.
Healthcare Salaries in Milwaukee
- Entry level: healthcare support jobs such as nursing assistants and aides average about $19 an hour across the metro.
- Licensed practical nurse: roughly $25 to $38 an hour in current Milwaukee hospital and clinic postings.
- Registered nurse and senior clinical: about $38 to $57 an hour in posted RN ranges, and up to about $140,000 a year on the VA's federal nurse scale.
These are estimates built from federal May 2025 wage data and pay ranges posted by Milwaukee employers. Pay moves with license level, unit, shift and employer type; night, weekend and PRN shifts usually pay more, and the VA's posted federal nurse range runs higher at the top end.
How to Become a Healthcare Worker in Milwaukee
Most people enter through nursing assistant training, which lands them on the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry run by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. That step matters here because Milwaukee Area Technical College requires CNA training before you can enter its Practical Nursing diploma at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus or its Registered Nursing associate degree at the Downtown and Mequon campuses. Bachelor's routes run through the UW-Milwaukee School of Nursing and the Marquette University College of Nursing. Nurses are licensed by the Wisconsin Board of Nursing through the Department of Safety and Professional Services after passing the NCLEX.
What the Job Involves
Healthcare work covers direct patient care, clinical support and the administrative jobs that keep a hospital running. Day to day that can mean taking vital signs, helping patients bathe and move, giving medications, charting in an electronic health record, drawing blood, scheduling and checking in patients, or cleaning and stocking rooms between cases. Most hospital roles run on 8 or 12 hour shifts that include nights, weekends and holidays.
Skills Employers Look For
- A current Wisconsin license or registry listing for the role
- Basic Life Support (BLS) certification
- Electronic health record charting
- Clear communication with patients and families
- Comfort with rotating shifts and weekends
- Physical stamina for lifting and long periods on your feet
Career Path and Advancement
Milwaukee's nursing ladder is easy to map. A CNA who finishes MATC's two-semester Practical Nursing diploma can sit for the NCLEX-PN, then ladder into MATC's RN associate degree or its LPN to ADN progression program. From there, UWM's RN to BS program lets associate-degree nurses finish a bachelor's degree while they keep working. Career changers with a bachelor's in another field can take Marquette's Direct Entry MSN.
Related Careers in Milwaukee
If healthcare interests you, this Milwaukee guide goes deeper on one role:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to work in healthcare in Milwaukee?
It depends on the job. Nurses need a license from the Wisconsin Board of Nursing, and nursing assistants must be listed on the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry. Many support jobs, such as patient transport, environmental services and patient access, need no state license at all.
How much do healthcare jobs pay in Milwaukee?
Healthcare support roles average about $19 an hour in the metro, LPN postings run roughly $25 to $38 an hour, and registered nurse postings commonly start near $38 and reach $57 or more. Clinical healthcare workers in Milwaukee average $56.62 an hour, above the national mean of $52.26.
Where are the major hospitals in Milwaukee?
The Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus near the Zoo Interchange holds Froedtert Hospital and Children's Wisconsin. Aurora St. Luke's and Ascension St. Francis are on the south side, Ascension Columbia St. Mary's is on the East Side, Ascension St. Joseph is on the northwest side, and the VA is on National Avenue.
What is the fastest way to start a healthcare career in Milwaukee?
Nursing assistant training is a common clinical entry point, and it is also the required first step for MATC's practical and registered nursing programs. Non-clinical hospital roles such as patient access and environmental services are another way in; check each posting for its requirements.
Can a Wisconsin nursing license be used in other states?
Yes, in many of them. Wisconsin belongs to the Nurse Licensure Compact, so a nurse whose primary state of residence is Wisconsin can hold a multistate license that is valid in other compact states.
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