Does Milwaukee County pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Milwaukee County employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Milwaukee County. This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Milwaukee County?

67% of Milwaukee County employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Milwaukee County 3.3 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.1 for culture and values and 2.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Milwaukee County?

Deputy Court Clerk (7) , Correctional Officer (6) , Director (6) , Paralegal (6) , Administrative Assistant (4) , Clerical Specialist (4) , Clerical Assistant (3) , Human Service Worker (3) , Attorney (2) , Certification Analyst (2) , Fiscal Assistant (2) , Human Resources Assistant (2) , Jco (2) , Manager (2) , Park Worker (2)

What are the pros of working at Milwaukee County according to real employee reviews?

"They offered really good benefits" ((in 35 reviews)); "Great people to work with" ((in 11 reviews)); "And time off" ((in 6 reviews)); "Good Work/Life Balance and flexible scheduling" ((in 5 reviews)); "Great staff, everyone gets along very well, and the job can be very rewarding" ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about Milwaukee County redundancies in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Milwaukee County redundancy and their outlook for job security at Milwaukee County in 2026.

Milwaukee County Reviews

3.4

67% would recommend to a friend

(197 total reviews)

David Crowley

76% approve of CEO

39% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (197 reviews)

Milwaukee County has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 197 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Milwaukee County employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government and public administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

197 reviews

1.0

1 Feb 2019

Avoid like the plague

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Dedicated social workers who really care and do anything and everything to help their clients.

Cons

The compensation is horrible. You are forced to pay in to the pension system which you are not fully vested for until after 5 years. They do not make you aware of this before you are hired. The do not promote from with in. They only give a 1% "cost of living" raise. This is not even enough to cover the increase in benefits. very few people MAY get something more than that but it is very rare. It seems as if senior management knows about employees who do not carry their own weight yet they do nothing about it. Several co-workers get away with coming in late, taking hour long lunches, going MIA for hours at a time, hiding out in empty offices while they are on personal calls and nothing is ever done about it. Morale is so low that it is depressing to come to work every day.

Milwaukee County Response

2y

Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate your time for sharing the views and we would certainly look into the improvement areas mentioned.

2.0

20 Oct 2017

Human Resources Generalist

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

The benefits are good and there is management within certain departments at Milwaukee County that are truly trustworthy and honest.

Cons

Very political and racist place to work. Employees are not promoted based on performance. They are promoted based on how well they are liked and go along with the wrong that is done with other employees. Human Resources Staff are not trustworthy.

Milwaukee County Response

2y

Thank you for your feedback and it is valuable to us. We will review with the leadership teams the issues you brought to our attention. We will certainly try to address the observations and experiences and work towards making it better to avoid similar situations or experiences in future. We are “CHANGEMAKERS” and you would experience a change towards this in future. Thank you in advance for understanding and giving us the opportunity to make it better.

2.0

16 Aug 2018

JCO

Jco

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Many co-workers are genuine and caring. Working with kids, trying to make a difference in their lives. OT opportunities. Good experience for transition in criminal justice career. Other JCO's will usually take your OT if not needed. Sometimes OT is cancelled. Moving from 2nd to 1st shift is highly possible within a couple years.

Cons

Detention is very poorly managed. In a year's time, 2 Superintendent's were fired. A 3rd was hired temporarily but thank God he wasn't chosen for permanent position. Very high turnover rate. Poor wage rate for daily violent aspects of job. Pod tables and chairs are thrown at JCO's because they are not bolted to floor. Detainee's provided with endless chances and go unpunished for crimes like seriously injuring other detainee's requiring hospital stays. The newer limit of 4 hour restrictions isn't enough time to allow detainee's to learn their wrong-doings. Supervisors on 2nd shift are undeserving of their positions except for one newer supervisor. Many nights, they sit in the office watching sports instead of the pods. Inmate on officer injuries are frequent because detainee's provided with way too much leeway by detention policies and court system. You'll see this after a few months on the job. Training is thrown to the wolves. No academy for 2 years for some JCO's. I was "training" newly hired JCO's after 3 months in position because all the vet JCO's (with 2+ years experience) moved to 1st shift. Some JCO's gossip so much it ruins the positive atmosphere. Mainly stems from jealousy regarding wages (newer JCO's paid more than older JCO's; if chain of command is unsettled in anyway (newer JCO is put on a "safer" pod due to lack of training, angers some older JCO's who want that pod because they don't have to work as hard). Some JCO's do not have your back. Some JCO's encourage detainee's to fight. Some JCO's are so incompetent, creates very unsafe pod. Some JCO's are verbally abusive to the detainee's which creates hostility from detainee's towards JCO's who are not verbally abusive. Not right. Do not recommend working here unless you love engaging in this type of environment. Pay is not commensurate with experience. No wage increases in years. Benefit costs increase annually. When a few 15/20 year JCO vets abruptly resigned over policy issues (without providing 2 week notices), you know the management is bad. OT wasn't horrible (1 -8 hour shift a week, sometimes 2). If you have a family, job is hard to juggle. Working 230-11pm then 11pm to 7 am is difficult. Job is short term, bridge for other better jobs in LE.

Milwaukee County Response

2y

Thank you for your feedback and it is valuable to us. We will review with the leadership team the issues you brought to our attention. We will certainly try to address the observations and experiences and work towards making it better to avoid similar situations or experiences in future. We are “CHANGEMAKERS” and you would experience a change towards this in future. Thank you in advance for understanding and giving us the opportunity to make it better.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 197 Reviews