Educational instruction and library occupations · SOC 25-2031 · Tennessee
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Tennessee
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Tennessee earned a median of $61,860 a year in May 2025, below the $72,040 national median for the occupation. Tennessee employs 21,230 of them, 6.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the state. Most people entering the occupation nationally do so with a bachelor's degree.
Median annual pay in Tennessee
$61,860
Below the $72,040 national median for this occupation
Middle half earn between
$52,870 – $73,740
The 25th to 75th percentile of everyone in the occupation in this state
Employed in Tennessee
21,230
6.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the state
Concentration vs national
0.95×
about as concentrated here as nationally
Pay rank
#35 of 51
Among the states and DC that released an estimate for this occupation
Typical entry education (U.S.)
Bachelor's degree
Federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates.
What secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education actually earn in Tennessee
The full published wage distribution (May 2025), not one averaged figure. Pay inside a single occupation varies more by experience, employer and setting than most salary pages admit.
- 10th percentile
- $49,050
- 25th percentile
- $52,870
- Median
- $61,860
- 75th percentile
- $73,740
- 90th percentile
- $79,180
How Tennessee compares
- Against the rest of the country. $61,860 in Tennessee against $72,040 nationally for the same occupation, which puts Tennessee 35th of the 51 jurisdictions that released an estimate. Neither figure is adjusted for cost of living, so a higher median does not by itself mean more money left over.
- Against other work in Tennessee. $61,860 against $47,380, the median across every occupation in the state — 31% above it.
- How much of this work is here. The occupation is about as concentrated here as nationally (0.95× the national share of employment), 32nd of 51 for concentration. Concentration describes where the work is, not how easy it is to be hired.
Where secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education are paid most
The highest published medians for this occupation (May 2025). Before reading it as a place to move, note that these are not cost-of-living adjusted and that the states paying most are often the ones where everything costs most.
How people get into this work
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports as typical for entry nationally. Typical is a measurement of the people already doing the work, not a rule: some enter with less and some with more.
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
None
On-the-job training
None
Tennessee licensing is not in these figures.
Many occupations, including most of health care, teaching, law, accountancy and the skilled trades, require a state licence, certification or registration before you can work. Tennessee sets its own, and none of it is part of the federal dataset above, so CampusPin cannot tell you whether this occupation is licensed here. Check the Tennessee licensing board before committing to a route, because where an occupation is licensed that requirement, not the typical credential, is the real gate.
What people study to get here, and where in Tennessee
Fields the federal CIP-to-SOC crosswalk associates with this occupation, ordered by how many credentials U.S. colleges conferred in each — a measure of how many people take a route, never of how good it is. Studying any of these does not lead only here, and this occupation is entered from other fields too.
34 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
Graduates of 10 Tennessee bachelor's programs in this field earned a typical $54,375 four years after graduating; highest, Tennessee State University ($59,855) (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
13 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
Graduates of 3 Tennessee bachelor's programs in this field earned a typical $87,762 four years after graduating; highest, Vanderbilt University ($140,337) (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
26 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
Graduates of 7 Tennessee bachelor's programs in this field earned a typical $50,169 four years after graduating; highest, Vanderbilt University ($102,789) (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
31 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
Graduates of 8 Tennessee bachelor's programs in this field earned a typical $45,798 four years after graduating; highest, Vanderbilt University ($60,439) (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
31 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
Graduates of 5 Tennessee bachelor's programs in this field earned a typical $47,449 four years after graduating; highest, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville ($52,505) (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
32 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
26 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
Graduates of 4 Tennessee master's programs in this field earned a typical $52,946 four years after graduating; highest, Cumberland University ($55,122) (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
30 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
Graduates of 6 Tennessee bachelor's programs in this field earned a typical $44,660 four years after graduating; highest, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville ($46,701) (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
28 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
18 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
14 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
8 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
8 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
5 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25.
8 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25.
8 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25 — see which ones, and what they cost.
Graduates of 3 Tennessee bachelor's programs in this field earned a typical $43,666 four years after graduating; highest, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville ($52,703) (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
6 colleges in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25.
1 college in Tennessee reported awarding credentials in this field in 2024-25.
Program figures are the median earnings of each program's graduates four years after completing (federal-aid recipients who worked and were not enrolled), not the pay of this occupation; the typical program is the median across the state's programs with at least 30 graduates measured.
This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.
Colleges in Tennessee
Pay is one half of the decision. What it costs to get qualified is the other, and it is the half that varies most between two colleges in the same state.
Source & methodology
State wage and employment figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 release. National median pay, projections and typical entry education are from the BLS Employment Projections programme (2024 wages). Both are public domain; credit BLS.
Wages are May 2025 estimates from the federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which asks employers what they pay everyone currently working in the occupation — experienced and new alike. They are not starting salaries, not the earnings of recent graduates, and not adjusted for cost of living, which matters when comparing one state against another. Self-employed workers are not surveyed.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. (2026). Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Tennessee, pay and employment. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/careers/secondary-school-teachers-except-special-and-career-technical-education/in/tennessee
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