Tennessee Salary Data

Tennessee hosts 2 major metropolitan areas covered in this dataset: Nashville, Memphis. The range of cost-of-living indices across these metros — 83 to 110 — shows how much intra-state variance matters. Costs are fairly uniform across metros — relocation within the state won't dramatically shift purchasing power.

Tennessee levies no state income tax, which is typically worth 4–8% of gross pay versus a high-tax state. For a $100,000 salary, that's roughly $6,000 more in take-home per year than a California or New York resident would see. States with no income tax often offset with higher property tax or sales tax, so factor those into the total tax picture.

Economic drivers shape which occupations pay well in Tennessee. The state's highest-paying of our featured occupations is Lawyer at an average of $108,000, concentrated in Nashville, TN. Metros with larger technology, healthcare, or financial-services concentrations tend to pay above national average for those roles; metros with primarily manufacturing, tourism, or agriculture tend to pay closer to national medians but with lower cost of living offsetting the difference.

For relocation planning, run the math both ways: (1) compare your current salary to the TN median for your occupation — if it's lower, you have negotiating leverage; and (2) compare the COL-adjusted figure, which tells you how much purchasing power you'd have. A 10% nominal pay cut in a 20% lower COL city is effectively a 12% raise in real terms. For a specific role, browse all occupations and drill into each one to see side-by-side city differences within Tennessee.