Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, county by county, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. Tennessee scores 91.9 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $68,903 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | Tennessee (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 91.9 | 38th of 51 |
| Rents | 79.1 | 33rd of 51 |
| Goods | 96.2 | — |
| Other services | 95.1 | — |
Home electricity averaged 12.42 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $3.67 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 3,278,760 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in Tennessee, the median pay is $47,380 a year, or $22.78 an hour; that ranks 41st of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $28,600 and one in ten more than $103,130.
Tennessee has no state income tax on wages. More on taxes in Tennessee. A single filer on the median $47,380, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $40,250 a year, or $1,548 every two weeks, after $3,506 of federal income tax, $3,625 of Social Security and Medicare. Work out your own paycheck in Tennessee.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 105,870 | $38,160 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 90,690 | $27,470 |
| Retail Salespersons | 87,380 | $31,950 |
| Registered Nurses | 72,200 | $81,500 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 64,890 | $58,620 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are general and operations managers ($106,970), registered nurses ($81,500), first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers ($66,390). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Across the 95 Tennessee counties with their own Zillow home value, the median typical home is worth $257,327, and across the 44 with their own rent figure the median typical rent is $1,488 a month. A typical home costs 3.74 years of the county's median family income, at the median county.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $2,068 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $88,619 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family can afford its own county's typical home in 14.7% of Tennessee's counties, against 44.9% of counties nationally. Try it with your own income.
At the median county, home values changed +3.1% over the past year and +31.2% over five years, and rents +1.7% over the past year.
The most expensive Tennessee counties are Williamson County ($920,938), Wilson County ($505,397) and Loudon County ($452,441); the least expensive are Lake County ($112,338), Lauderdale County ($139,044) and Hardeman County ($165,060).
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the median Tennessee county, that comes to $43,152 a year for one adult and $88,416 for two adults and two children, of which $12,015 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income in the median county is $71,662.
| Two adults, two children | Per year, median county | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $11,236 | $936 |
| Food | $11,950 | $996 |
| Transportation | $18,659 | $1,555 |
| Healthcare | $18,208 | $1,517 |
| Childcare | $12,015 | $1,001 |
| Other necessities | $7,194 | $600 |
| Taxes | $8,342 | $695 |
Each line is its own median across counties, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total.
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 145 colleges in Tennessee, 47 of them public. The median public college reports a cost of attendance of $16,401 a year, covering tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $38,610. Compare degrees and schools.
| Anderson County | $317,764 | +3.9% | $1,652 | $83,282 | $97,350 |
| Bedford County | $333,436 | +1.3% | $1,419 | $72,660 | $90,046 |
| Benton County | $191,556 | +8.6% | — | $68,196 | $85,207 |
| Bledsoe County | $249,889 | +9.4% | — | $59,891 | $86,027 |
| Blount County | $398,263 | +2.3% | $1,850 | $90,224 | $100,678 |
| Bradley County | $321,012 | +2.0% | $1,415 | $79,394 | $94,780 |
| Campbell County | $243,998 | +3.6% | — | $67,252 | $82,099 |
| Cannon County | $326,941 | +7.8% | — | $73,441 | $90,023 |
| Carroll County | $182,643 | +1.7% | — | $73,122 | $84,711 |
| Carter County | $242,472 | −0.5% | $1,192 | $63,514 | $82,230 |
| Cheatham County | $400,290 | +1.6% | $1,641 | $95,330 | $107,066 |
| Chester County | $168,583 | +0.8% | — | $68,614 | $83,847 |
| Claiborne County | $229,487 | +5.4% | — | $63,456 | $83,962 |
| Clay County | $213,737 | +7.9% | — | $61,757 | $87,804 |
| Cocke County | $243,513 | +5.6% | $1,250 | $54,527 | $83,023 |
| Coffee County | $313,451 | +2.7% | $1,538 | $70,731 | $89,844 |
| Crockett County | $196,256 | +8.4% | — | $73,958 | $86,636 |
| Cumberland County | $311,747 | +0.7% | $1,481 | $69,744 | $88,488 |
| Davidson County | $432,558 | −3.1% | $1,833 | $96,175 | $110,294 |
| Decatur County | $187,545 | +6.7% | — | $62,181 | $85,002 |
| DeKalb County | $300,363 | +1.9% | — | $63,622 | $88,091 |
| Dickson County | $364,429 | +2.2% | $1,700 | $84,186 | $96,027 |
| Dyer County | $176,890 | +1.5% | $805 | $67,403 | $84,975 |
| Fayette County | $375,258 | −0.5% | $2,127 | $101,049 | $94,929 |
| Fentress County | $250,102 | +3.1% | — | $57,083 | $87,928 |
| Franklin County | $319,085 | +3.0% | $1,267 | $76,785 | $86,582 |
| Gibson County | $183,690 | +2.3% | $1,326 | $71,228 | $82,005 |
| Giles County | $252,905 | +3.1% | — | $82,604 | $88,549 |
| Grainger County | $284,555 | +5.3% | — | $66,264 | $83,453 |
| Greene County | $253,591 | +2.9% | $1,140 | $71,662 | $88,627 |
| Grundy County | $207,775 | +3.6% | — | $52,772 | $85,782 |
| Hamblen County | $274,494 | +4.5% | $1,464 | $70,052 | $83,207 |
| Hamilton County | $355,721 | −0.8% | $1,533 | $95,586 | $102,089 |
| Hancock County | $180,026 | +12.4% | — | $48,165 | $84,638 |
| Hardeman County | $165,060 | +6.4% | — | $67,892 | $84,312 |
| Hardin County | $211,298 | +3.6% | — | $56,576 | $85,218 |
| Hawkins County | $251,909 | +5.4% | $1,189 | $66,632 | $83,875 |
| Haywood County | $178,303 | +2.0% | — | $60,900 | $83,395 |
| Henderson County | $217,878 | +8.7% | — | $71,775 | $84,960 |
| Henry County | $222,433 | +7.5% | $975 | $65,316 | $88,239 |
| Hickman County | $187,605 | +5.8% | — | $67,158 | $91,295 |
| Houston County | $231,861 | +6.6% | — | $71,667 | $90,192 |
| Humphreys County | $255,185 | +5.4% | — | $75,629 | $90,468 |
| Jackson County | $233,300 | +2.1% | — | $59,234 | $89,719 |
| Jefferson County | $339,551 | +1.9% | $1,591 | $77,799 | $86,964 |
| Johnson County | $248,754 | +2.6% | — | $66,747 | $86,320 |
| Knox County | $381,776 | +1.2% | $1,753 | $94,921 | $103,004 |
| Lake County | $112,338 | +1.7% | — | $39,522 | $84,031 |
| Lauderdale County | $139,044 | +14.0% | — | $59,853 | $83,114 |
| Lawrence County | $251,269 | +4.8% | — | $67,842 | $88,416 |
| Lewis County | $253,376 | +4.4% | — | $70,610 | $90,226 |
| Lincoln County | $265,040 | +4.2% | — | $78,186 | $87,751 |
| Loudon County | $452,441 | +0.9% | $1,737 | $93,337 | $98,370 |
| Macon County | $267,448 | +3.9% | — | $71,834 | $87,296 |
| Madison County | $230,042 | −0.9% | $1,434 | $75,841 | $94,314 |
| Marion County | $261,852 | +1.4% | — | $67,433 | $89,191 |
| Marshall County | $327,691 | +3.4% | $1,607 | $88,053 | $91,006 |
| Maury County | $406,435 | +1.1% | $1,694 | $88,563 | $104,727 |
| McMinn County | $260,985 | +4.2% | $1,085 | $71,974 | $86,067 |
| McNairy County | $174,065 | +4.9% | — | $63,921 | $84,605 |
| Meigs County | $304,991 | +4.5% | — | $72,191 | $85,571 |
| Monroe County | $289,683 | +5.6% | $1,168 | $73,828 | $83,474 |
| Montgomery County | $322,648 | +0.1% | $1,387 | $86,662 | $99,066 |
| Moore County | $362,877 | +9.4% | — | $83,590 | $91,798 |
| Morgan County | $213,178 | +4.2% | — | $73,988 | $85,684 |
| Obion County | $168,015 | +7.0% | — | $67,717 | $84,031 |
| Overton County | $257,327 | +5.2% | — | $68,565 | $88,213 |
| Perry County | $171,775 | +0.2% | — | $61,712 | $90,921 |
| Pickett County | $255,058 | +3.1% | — | $62,788 | $88,720 |
| Polk County | $256,267 | +6.7% | $1,400 | $77,435 | $84,436 |
| Putnam County | $317,212 | +1.7% | $1,495 | $74,175 | $92,276 |
| Rhea County | $264,669 | +3.9% | $1,050 | $63,537 | $85,383 |
| Roane County | $300,246 | +4.4% | $1,378 | $84,015 | $87,888 |
| Robertson County | $372,943 | +0.4% | $1,720 | $90,630 | $105,379 |
| Rutherford County | $419,031 | −0.6% | $1,709 | $96,860 | $109,769 |
| Scott County | $186,594 | +2.1% | — | $53,423 | $82,648 |
| Sequatchie County | $287,696 | +3.0% | — | $62,179 | $92,085 |
| Sevier County | $408,301 | −0.8% | $1,620 | $77,896 | $93,419 |
| Shelby County | $219,859 | −1.4% | $1,372 | $80,849 | $96,587 |
| Smith County | $309,970 | +3.5% | — | $78,868 | $88,728 |
| Stewart County | $248,778 | −0.8% | — | $82,226 | $88,553 |
| Sullivan County | $261,681 | −0.4% | $1,328 | $74,563 | $90,600 |
| Sumner County | $446,556 | +0.5% | $1,675 | $103,326 | $109,642 |
| Tipton County | $275,472 | +1.9% | $1,858 | $84,489 | $91,980 |
| Trousdale County | $361,700 | +3.8% | — | $82,866 | $89,697 |
| Unicoi County | $248,325 | +4.4% | — | $63,258 | $82,592 |
| Union County | $297,661 | +3.1% | — | $71,211 | $90,854 |
| Van Buren County | $231,565 | +1.7% | — | $69,262 | $87,947 |
| Warren County | $258,361 | +1.8% | — | $64,962 | $87,440 |
| Washington County | $311,424 | +1.1% | $1,516 | $82,020 | $93,017 |
| Wayne County | $182,772 | +6.0% | — | $68,812 | $88,508 |
| Weakley County | $195,643 | +7.9% | $966 | $66,024 | $83,934 |
| White County | $284,877 | +6.8% | — | $68,157 | $89,513 |
| Williamson County | $920,938 | +1.7% | $2,183 | $153,397 | $127,011 |
| Wilson County | $505,397 | +0.4% | $1,875 | $109,979 | $111,683 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
Nashville, TN (typical rent $1,820), Memphis, TN (typical rent $1,422), Knoxville, TN (typical rent $1,747).
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County figures are medians across Tennessee's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.