Jobs and pay in Tennessee

The highest-paying occupations in Tennessee

Sorted by median annual wage — the midpoint of what people in the occupation are paid in this state, not what a newcomer earns. Occupations BLS did not release a wage for are absent rather than shown as zero.

1. Cardiologists$610,080
2. Dermatologists$433,630
3. Surgeons, all other$373,510
4. Obstetricians and gynecologists$354,580
5. Orthodontists$339,610
6. Anesthesiologists$330,620
7. Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric$325,520
8. Physicians, all other$301,290
9. General internal medicine physicians$232,220
10. Ophthalmologists, except pediatric$231,040
11. Neurologists$229,670
12. Family medicine physicians$226,830
13. Dentists, general$215,290
14. Psychiatrists$214,880
15. Podiatrists$212,470
16. Nurse anesthetists$211,450
17. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates$208,350
18. Chief executives$198,830
19. Pediatricians, general$176,210
20. Physicists$165,010
21. Architectural and engineering managers$161,430
22. Computer and information systems managers$158,700
23. Air traffic controllers$157,330
24. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers$143,580
25. Acupuncturists$141,430

Where the jobs actually are in Tennessee

The same list sorted by how many people are employed in each occupation, which is a different question from what it pays and usually a more useful one. High pay in an occupation employing 400 people statewide is a narrower opportunity than it looks.

1. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand105,870 employed
2. Fast food and counter workers90,690 employed
3. Retail salespersons87,380 employed
4. Registered nurses72,200 employed
5. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers64,890 employed
6. General and operations managers63,720 employed
7. Cashiers63,350 employed
8. Stockers and order fillers60,130 employed
9. Customer service representatives59,730 employed
10. Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators58,760 employed
11. Waiters and waitresses52,120 employed
12. Office clerks, general49,880 employed
13. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers49,870 employed
14. Medical secretaries and administrative assistants41,810 employed
15. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners38,120 employed
16. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks37,680 employed
17. Home health and personal care aides35,950 employed
18. Maintenance and repair workers, general35,790 employed
19. Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive34,580 employed
20. Light truck drivers33,710 employed
21. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers29,100 employed
22. Elementary school teachers, except special education28,240 employed
23. Cooks, restaurant28,220 employed
24. Security guards27,690 employed
25. Accountants and auditors27,340 employed

The best-paid Tennessee work that typically needs no bachelor's degree

Occupations BLS reports as typically entered with an associate's degree, a postsecondary certificate, some college, a high-school diploma, or no formal credential — sorted by what they pay here. Typical is not a requirement, individual employers set their own, and many of these carry state licensing that the national figure does not capture.

1. Air traffic controllers$157,330 · Associate's degree
2. Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels$132,710 · Postsecondary nondegree award
3. Commercial pilots$117,480 · Postsecondary nondegree award
4. Power plant operators$115,920 · High school diploma or equivalent
5. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers$100,740 · High school diploma or equivalent
6. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers$100,490 · High school diploma or equivalent
7. Postmasters and mail superintendents$99,170 · High school diploma or equivalent
8. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay$96,840 · Postsecondary nondegree award
9. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers$96,730 · High school diploma or equivalent
10. Nuclear technicians$91,980 · Associate's degree
11. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers$85,980 · High school diploma or equivalent
12. Dental hygienists$84,640 · Associate's degree
13. Nuclear medicine technologists$84,470 · Associate's degree
14. Electrical power-line installers and repairers$83,660 · High school diploma or equivalent
15. Radiation therapists$83,520 · Associate's degree
16. Precision instrument and equipment repairers, all other$82,090 · High school diploma or equivalent
17. Surgical assistants$81,640 · Postsecondary nondegree award
18. Locomotive engineers$81,410 · High school diploma or equivalent
19. First-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other$81,330 · High school diploma or equivalent
20. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians$81,040 · Postsecondary nondegree award
21. Diagnostic medical sonographers$80,640 · Associate's degree
22. Environmental engineering technologists and technicians$80,100 · Associate's degree
23. Power distributors and dispatchers$79,910 · High school diploma or equivalent
24. Signal and track switch repairers$79,730 · High school diploma or equivalent
25. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists$78,610 · Associate's degree

A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one. CampusPin publishes the national picture of pay by entry education and which fields are actually awarded as certificates rather than degrees.

What Tennessee does more of than the rest of the country

Location quotient: this occupation's share of Tennessee employment divided by its share of U.S. employment. 2.0 means twice as concentrated here as nationally. It describes where the work IS — not what it pays, and not how easy it is to be hired. Limited to occupations employing at least 500 people in the state, so a tiny base cannot manufacture a large ratio.

Entertainment attendants and related workers, all other lead, much more concentrated here than nationally.

Other states