See how your paycheck compares to the average hourly pay in Tennessee

Nashville Tennessean

Sept. 29, 2025, 5:03 a.m. CT

Tennessee ranks deep in the bottom half of U.S. states by average hourly earnings, with an average pay of $31.08.
The top earning entry on the list is the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

Curious how your paycheck stacks up against the average Tennessean — or the rest of the country?

The latest earnings figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics can give you a clue. The bureau last released updated private average hourly earnings by state in August, along with the average weekly earnings and the average number of hours Americans work per week.

Here’s how Tennessee stacks up.

Tennessee ranks deep in bottom half in average hourly pay

If you’re looking at the list of each state’s average hourly earnings from highest to lowest, you’ll find Tennessee near the bottom.

Tennessee comes in at 42^nd among its U.S. state peers and Washington, D.C., with an average hourly pay of $31.08. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that Tennessee’s average weekly earnings come out to $1,075.37, and that Tennesseans work an average of 34.6 hours per week.

Extrapolated over a 52-week calendar year, that equates to an average annual salary of $55,919.24.

While near the bottom of the list, Tenneesee’s average hourly pay is still a few dollars higher than the $28.10 average for the lowest state on the list, Mississippi. Here’s the full bottom five, from highest to lowest:

West Virginia: $29.88
Louisiana: $29.71
Arkansas: $29.62
New Mexico: $29.14
Mississippi: $28.10

Which states have the highest average pay?

At the other end of the spectrum, the nation’s capital comfortably tops the list.

The average hourly pay in Washington, D.C., is $54.23 — a weekly rate of $1,936.01 from a 35.7 hour work week on average, which equates to a six-figure annual salary of just over $100,000. It’s also about $12 higher than the next highest entry on the list.

Here’s the full top 10: