The highest paying job in Tennessee is Family Medicine Physicians, with a median salary of $229,050 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in TN based on 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024
Ranked by median annual salary. Click any job to see the full salary breakdown including percentile data and state-by-state comparisons.
| Rank | Occupation | Median Salary | Mean Salary | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family Medicine Physicians | $229,050 | $256,650 | 2,520 |
| 2 | Neurologists | $228,350 | $293,490 | 290 |
| 3 | Podiatrists | $213,180 | $204,310 | 80 |
| 4 | Nurse Anesthetists | $203,400 | $195,790 | 2,360 |
| 5 | Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $178,730 | $161,890 | 520 |
| 6 | Pediatricians, General | $176,150 | $197,990 | 910 |
| 7 | Orthodontists | $174,830 | $183,410 | N/A |
| 8 | Chief Executives | $173,870 | $223,350 | 5,360 |
| 9 | Physicists | $173,660 | $163,690 | 260 |
| 10 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $171,280 | $170,840 | 190 |
| 11 | Psychiatrists | $166,470 | $197,490 | 300 |
| 12 | Petroleum Engineers | $164,240 | $151,770 | 50 |
| 13 | Dentists, General | $154,460 | $191,880 | 1,470 |
| 14 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $153,920 | $156,110 | 3,610 |
| 15 | Air Traffic Controllers | $153,670 | $144,150 | 610 |
| 16 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $149,990 | $164,850 | 11,720 |
| 17 | Sales Engineers | $144,030 | $137,610 | 1,040 |
| 18 | Fashion Designers | $142,500 | $117,100 | 40 |
| 19 | Natural Sciences Managers | $140,430 | $146,790 | N/A |
| 20 | Psychologists, All Other | $135,570 | $123,640 | 240 |
| 21 | Financial Manager | $133,010 | $154,180 | 18,650 |
| 22 | Purchasing Managers | $132,930 | $156,820 | 1,430 |
| 23 | Pharmacist | $131,290 | $125,850 | 8,050 |
| 24 | Lawyer | $130,570 | $155,290 | 8,830 |
| 25 | Medical Dosimetrists | $130,360 | $121,090 | 100 |
Average Salary in Tennessee · All Tennessee Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in Tennessee are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Family Medicine Physicians, pays $164,111 more than the state average of $64,938 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $130,360, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how Tennessee's top salaries compare to other states.
Rankings are based on median annual salary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 estimates. We use median rather than mean salary because it better represents typical earnings and is less affected by outliers.
Only occupations with state-level data published by BLS are included. Some specialized or rare occupations may not have data for every state. For full methodology details, see our Methodology page.