Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Tennessee

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee are those of obstetricians and gynecologists, with an average annual salary of $238,170. The second highest-paying jobs are those of family medicine physician, with an average salary of $223,880.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Tennessee 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 Tennessee in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Tennessee (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$238,170	$85,550	370
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$223,880	$118,210	1,540
3	Other Specialists Dentists	$216,660	$177,380	30
4	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$183,340	$66,260	160
5	General Pediatricians	$181,990	$67,640	1,590
6	Nurse Anesthetists	$177,340	$138,130	1,760
7	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	$176,590	$67,810	160
8	Psychiatrists	$170,720	$59,230	430
9	General Dentists	$168,650	$86,380	1,310
10	Podiatrists	$163,520	$87,960	100
11	Chief Executives	$163,380	$20,500	4,870
12	Air Traffic Controllers	$138,670	$78,100	570
13	Materials Scientists	$133,960	$65,320	410
14	Natural Sciences Managers	$132,190	$92,580	380
15	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$131,040	$91,030	2,910
16	Financial Managers	$129,970	$76,530	18,980
17	Orthodontists	$129,390	$80,220	70
18	Sales Managers	$129,270	$66,490	8,800
19	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$128,720	$80,210	9,110
20	Pharmacists	$128,710	$55,720	7,780
21	Nuclear Engineers	$128,670	$84,990	630
22	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$128,510	$59,330	200
23	Physicists	$127,100	$58,780	370
24	Marketing Managers	$124,470	$68,740	7,390
25	Purchasing Managers	$122,730	$73,550	1,240
26	Medical Dosimetrists	$121,760	$58,010	80
27	Lawyers	$117,440	$65,140	8,830
28	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$115,910	$48,680	530
29	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$115,840	$78,900	260
30	Aerospace Engineers	$114,860	$66,210	260
31	Database Architects	$114,440	$69,570	320
32	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$113,000	$38,070	180
33	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$111,680	$102,400	70
34	Administrative Services Managers	$109,450	$53,800	8,260
35	Computer Network Architects	$106,800	$69,590	2,960
36	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	$105,760	$46,860	900
37	General and Operations Managers	$105,000	$49,070	57,220
38	Database Administrators	$104,690	$51,760	1,630
39	Physician Assistants	$104,400	$79,950	1,980
40	Human Resources Managers	$104,180	$64,250	3,980
41	Software Developers	$103,270	$56,180	17,850
42	Nuclear Power Reactor Operators	$103,190	$72,290	330
43	Nurse Practitioners	$103,080	$47,950	13,060
44	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$103,020	$61,720	720
45	Materials Engineers	$102,830	$62,320	750
46	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$101,960	$51,040	700
47	Chemical Engineers	$101,600	$76,670	580
48	Hydrologic Technicians	$101,590	$40,600	90
49	Other Education Administrators	$101,120	$49,230	920
50	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$100,990	$62,580	2,650
51	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$100,270	$36,530	3,170
52	Commercial Pilots	$100,200	$79,330	830
53	Industrial Production Managers	$100,000	$60,080	5,030
54	Electrical Engineers	$99,990	$64,250	2,190
55	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$99,830	$72,530	460
56	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$99,820	$70,720	210
57	Veterinarians	$99,690	$68,410	1,380
58	Training and Development Managers	$99,650	$62,060	850
59	Public Relations Managers	$99,500	$60,000	510
60	Medical and Health Services Managers	$98,860	$61,450	11,810
61	Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers	$98,730	$78,130	60
62	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$98,680	$40,340	240
63	Optometrists	$98,330	$71,190	630
64	Other Physical Scientists	$97,510	$51,150	90
65	Environmental Engineers	$97,310	$61,980	1,070
66	Information Security Analysts	$95,740	$62,240	2,680
67	Occupational Therapists	$95,560	$65,400	2,290
68	Physical Therapists	$95,380	$66,210	4,140
69	Data Scientists	$94,690	$64,830	1,210
70	Power Plant Operators	$94,440	$58,930	600
71	Facilities Managers	$94,370	$55,380	2,150
72	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$93,790	$51,350	4,240
73	Mechanical Engineers	$93,650	$59,380	2,730
74	Nurse Midwives	$93,600	$87,400	180
75	Directors, Religious Activities and Education	$93,290	$45,910	90
76	Petroleum Engineers	$93,100	$75,610	50
77	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$92,570	$74,050	1,110
78	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$91,370	$58,480	330
79	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$91,070	$43,020	70
80	Engineers, All Other	$89,710	$56,740	4,530
81	Computer Systems Analysts	$89,620	$53,580	8,450
82	Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teachers	$88,690	$31,110	160
83	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$87,050	$78,120	250
84	Genetic Counselors	$86,380	$61,990	90
85	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	$86,340	$49,460	1,390
86	Sales Engineers	$85,970	$51,380	470
87	Biomedical Engineers	$85,950	$52,000	210
88	Acupuncturists	$84,880	$63,800	0
89	Civil Engineers	$84,740	$60,140	3,710
90	Epidemiologists	$84,720	$66,840	250
91	Industrial Engineers	$84,660	$60,220	6,720
92	Nuclear Technicians	$84,100	$79,040	250
93	Funeral Home Managers	$83,800	$46,870	440
94	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	$83,280	$49,490	150
95	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$83,150	$47,430	120
96	Financial Analysts	$83,010	$50,790	3,270
97	Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters	$82,600	$44,310	140
98	Actuaries	$82,340	$62,240	590
99	Management Analysts	$82,120	$51,620	9,240
100	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$81,690	$48,440	1,310

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Tennessee – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$196,570
2	Psychiatrists	$170,720
3	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$170,020
4	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$169,670
5	Pediatric Surgeons	$169,040
6	Nurse Anesthetists	$168,450
7	General Pediatricians	$168,320
8	Chief Executives	$152,660
9	Air Traffic Controllers	$135,410
10	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$135,270

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Tennessee – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists	$204,560
2	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$202,770
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$197,520
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$174,550
5	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$161,290
6	General Pediatricians	$152,750
7	Chief Executives	$151,960
8	Podiatrists	$141,730
9	Air Traffic Controllers	$134,070
10	Physicists	$132,780

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Tennessee – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Psychiatrists	$206,880
2	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$197,540
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$196,590
4	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$189,160
5	General Pediatricians	$174,940
6	Nurse Anesthetists	$157,920
7	General Dentists	$152,250
8	Chief Executives	$138,370
9	Other Specialists Dentists	$130,310
10	Nuclear Engineers	$128,990

Also see The most popular jobs in Tennessee.