Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Knoxville, TN

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Knoxville, TN, ranked by annual average salary. For each job, the table displays the number of employees with that job, as well as the job's entry-level salary. (The entry-level salary is calculated based on the 10% of paid workers with the lowest salaries.)

Based on the table, we see that the highest-paying jobs in Knoxville, TN are those of psychiatrist, with an average annual salary of $204,060. The second highest-paying jobs are those of general dentist, with an average salary of $179,320.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Knoxville, TN has been computed using data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2023. Notably, the highest-paying occupations change from year to year. Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the top 10 highest-paying occupations in Knoxville, TN in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Knoxville, TN (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Psychiatrists	$204,060	$27,880	60
2	General Dentists	$179,320	$84,750	230
3	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$179,040	$114,730	90
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$170,370	$137,000	300
5	Family Medicine Physicians	$168,090	$134,570	200
6	Chief Executives	$149,280	$22,440	520
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$136,380	$90,580	580
8	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$132,060	$47,990	40
9	Physicists	$131,660	$61,350	220
10	Postsecondary Physics Teachers	$131,120	$55,260	50
11	Sales Managers	$129,700	$68,000	1,070
12	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$128,640	$80,530	220
13	Pharmacists	$128,020	$79,350	1,020
14	Nuclear Engineers	$125,450	$86,540	380
15	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$125,240	$78,850	1,120
16	Financial Managers	$124,910	$75,590	1,960
17	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$124,810	$64,660	60
18	Marketing Managers	$124,050	$68,990	910
19	Other Physical Scientists	$122,680	$62,730	50
20	Natural Sciences Managers	$122,560	$95,560	60
21	Database Architects	$121,950	$54,420	40
22	Purchasing Managers	$121,770	$77,260	190
23	Lawyers	$117,440	$70,090	1,240
24	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$106,810	$103,170	0
25	General and Operations Managers	$104,870	$48,810	7,430
26	Human Resources Managers	$104,850	$54,780	490
27	Physician Assistants	$103,710	$80,230	300
28	Environmental Engineers	$103,620	$62,900	370
29	Information Security Analysts	$102,490	$64,500	470
30	Industrial Production Managers	$102,330	$59,710	630
31	Commercial Pilots	$102,290	$82,950	110
32	Mechanical Engineers	$101,700	$62,300	500
33	Statisticians	$101,430	$60,670	150
34	Training and Development Managers	$101,380	$65,900	110
35	Other Education Administrators	$101,330	$55,390	160
36	Postsecondary Biological Science Teachers	$100,970	$58,410	210
37	Electrical Engineers	$100,730	$63,220	420
38	Software Developers	$100,600	$52,780	2,300
39	Administrative Services Managers	$100,520	$51,110	910
40	Veterinarians	$100,170	$74,400	190
41	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$99,820	$62,800	490
42	Nurse Practitioners	$99,380	$43,860	1,830
43	Public Relations Managers	$99,010	$57,380	70
44	Financial Examiners	$98,900	$56,910	70
45	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$98,640	$62,910	250
46	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$98,270	$80,280	180
47	Industrial Engineers	$98,120	$61,990	900
48	Chemical Engineers	$98,060	$75,790	60
49	Optometrists	$97,920	$77,630	90
50	Computer Network Architects	$97,550	$60,320	350
51	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$97,510	$73,760	40
52	Postsecondary Chemistry Teachers	$96,640	$50,970	100
53	Engineers, All Other	$96,200	$61,320	1,140
54	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$95,950	$78,230	40
55	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$95,890	$39,080	100
56	Medical and Health Services Managers	$95,810	$62,470	1,500
57	Materials Engineers	$95,190	$60,660	110
58	Insurance Sales Agents	$93,600	$36,030	1,020
59	Database Administrators	$92,540	$42,050	150
60	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$91,570	$77,510	210
61	Power Plant Operators	$91,370	$58,160	120
62	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$89,450	$50,580	390
63	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$89,070	$80,690	30
64	Computer Programmers	$88,880	$51,350	190
65	Occupational Therapists	$88,700	$62,650	280
66	Physical Therapists	$88,130	$66,210	590
67	Financial Risk Specialists	$87,460	$40,760	70
68	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$87,420	$45,290	570
69	Nurse Midwives	$87,400	$87,400	50
70	Computer Systems Analysts	$86,460	$55,230	1,000
71	Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	$85,630	$39,240	830
72	Data Scientists	$84,530	$65,100	140
73	Nuclear Technicians	$84,100	$79,940	230
74	Web Developers	$83,980	$57,640	470
75	Chemists	$83,330	$45,360	220
76	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$82,760	$62,850	660
77	Facilities Managers	$82,610	$56,800	310
78	Emergency Management Directors	$82,300	$54,070	40
79	Civil Engineers	$81,660	$59,230	780
80	Labor Relations Specialists	$81,530	$18,260	70
81	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$81,100	$43,570	750
82	Biomedical Engineers	$81,030	$62,050	40
83	Management Analysts	$80,580	$50,350	1,310
84	Postsecondary Political Science Teachers	$80,460	$49,850	40
85	Postsecondary History Teachers	$80,190	$47,710	70
86	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$80,180	$46,860	400
87	Postsecondary Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers	$80,060	$38,820	60
88	Construction Managers	$79,930	$51,700	1,030
89	Mining and Geological Engineers	$79,540	$43,300	50
90	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	$79,410	$61,730	240
91	Postsecondary Psychology Teachers	$78,980	$46,290	130
92	Boilermakers	$78,940	$48,430	30
93	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$78,700	$39,040	740
94	Art Directors	$78,650	$40,440	110
95	Financial Analysts	$77,850	$48,090	420
96	Other Biological Scientists	$77,680	$48,740	90
97	Landscape Architects	$77,380	$46,030	80
98	Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers	$76,950	$59,210	170
99	Dental Hygienists	$76,840	$47,390	700
100	All Other Managers	$76,720	$39,230	2,020

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Knoxville, TN – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Dentists	$204,660
2	Psychiatrists	$204,060
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$168,090
4	Chief Executives	$164,860
5	General Pediatricians	$161,470
6	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$154,740
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$133,110
8	Nuclear Engineers	$127,240
9	Pharmacists	$126,690
10	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$124,850

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Knoxville, TN – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$199,350
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$197,470
3	General Dentists	$176,190
4	Chief Executives	$163,890
5	Physicists	$148,330
6	Other Physical Scientists	$140,140
7	Optometrists	$132,670
8	Commercial Pilots	$123,400
9	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$123,170
10	Pharmacists	$121,740

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Knoxville, TN – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$207,340
2	Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists	$207,070
3	Psychiatrists	$202,460
4	General Dentists	$165,470
5	Chief Executives	$157,200
6	Nurse Anesthetists	$151,330
7	Other Physical Scientists	$133,840
8	Optometrists	$125,270
9	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$124,230
10	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$122,440

Also see The most popular jobs in Knoxville, TN.

Also see The most popular jobs in Tennessee, The top paying jobs in Tennessee.