The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Tennessee For 2020

by Chris Kolmar
Rankings - 6 months ago

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Editor’s Note: Article updated for 2020. This is our sixth time ranking the highest paying jobs in Tennessee

Ever wonder who gets paid the most? Or how much your dentist makes for all the pain they put you through?

We had that same burning desire to know more about the highest paid professions in Tennessee. And if you can’t tell by that sentence, we’re a bit of what you’d call data nerds.

We decided to go directly to the source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics.

After scrounging through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we discovered that Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists are the highest paid people in Tennessee.

Here’s a quick look at the top ten highest paying jobs in Tennessee:

  1. Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists
  2. Anesthesiologists
  3. Orthodontists
  4. Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  5. Psychiatrists
  6. Family Medicine Physicians
  7. General Internal Medicine Physicians
  8. Physicians, All Other; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
  9. Pediatricians, General
  10. Dentists, General

Everyone’s favorite dentists place number 10 on the list of highest paid professions in the Volunteer State. So the next time you sit there while they drill you can dwell on the fact that they are getting extremely well paid for it.

How we determined the highest paid jobs in Tennessee For 2020

We looked at the BLS’s data set for all 705 job classifications in Tennessee in order to identify those that get paid the most.

Pretty straightforward and easy to do when the government does your job for you 🙂

We used the most recently released data on March 29, 2020.

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of Highest Paying Jobs In Tennessee

Rank Job Title Average Salary Entry Level Salary # Of People
1 Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists $270,180 $187,600 170
2 Anesthesiologists $266,670 $185,530 920
3 Orthodontists $257,500 $141,100 100
4 Obstetricians And Gynecologists $234,250 $58,930 210
5 Psychiatrists $211,620 $61,070 350
6 Family Medicine Physicians $207,250 $94,740 980
7 General Internal Medicine Physicians $199,720 $61,850 490
8 Physicians, All Other; And Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric $192,190 $56,610 6,790
9 Pediatricians, General $179,320 $47,430 1,000
10 Dentists, General $173,360 $92,060 1,410
11 Chief Executives $158,280 $25,350 8,720
12 Nurse Anesthetists $157,070 $123,200 2,680
13 Dentists, All Other Specialists $152,300 $103,380 110
14 Law Teachers, Postsecondary $136,130 $38,770 280
15 Nuclear Engineers $130,570 $93,830 460
16 Architectural And Engineering Managers $128,970 $76,890 3,080
17 Physicists $125,050 $53,040 380
18 Lawyers $124,370 $59,720 7,590
19 Pharmacists $123,550 $81,880 7,350
20 Sales Managers $122,940 $54,000 7,800
21 Podiatrists $121,030 $72,600 80
22 Economics Teachers, Postsecondary $120,850 $56,100 270
23 Computer And Information Systems Managers $120,260 $66,970 6,790
24 Marketing Managers $119,850 $55,120 4,710
25 Optometrists $118,430 $70,880 820
26 Natural Sciences Managers $118,260 $68,720 430
27 Judges, Magistrate Judges, And Magistrates $117,870 $27,780 430
28 Financial Managers $113,700 $53,670 16,810
29 Air Traffic Controllers $113,510 $45,130 640
30 Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary $110,880 $49,720 780
31 Chemical Engineers $110,410 $70,620 770
32 General And Operations Managers $109,770 $37,440 46,030
33 Forestry And Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary $107,700 $66,210 30
34 Purchasing Managers $107,580 $57,270 1,560
35 Health And Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers And Inspectors $106,020 $61,660 500
36 Materials Engineers $105,430 $65,950 640
37 Computer And Information Research Scientists $103,800 $40,170 210
38 Industrial Production Managers $102,950 $55,380 4,550
39 Physical Scientists, All Other $102,740 $54,360 90
40 Medical And Health Services Managers $102,070 $52,040 9,820
41 Administrative Services And Facilities Managers $101,120 $50,950 7,340
42 Compensation And Benefits Managers $100,990 $55,310 350
43 Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, And Hearing Officers $100,340 $35,800 300
44 Training And Development Managers $99,720 $52,250 1,100
45 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary $99,280 $20,660 3,710
46 Advertising And Promotions Managers $99,040 $48,680 530
47 Chiropractors $98,960 $34,420 440
48 Computer Network Architects $98,550 $54,000 2,210
49 Anthropology And Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary $98,030 $53,030 70
50 Business Teachers, Postsecondary $97,560 $45,190 1,970
51 Nurse Practitioners $96,510 $61,900 7,850
52 Veterinarians $96,020 $53,890 1,750
53 Electrical Engineers $95,610 $62,590 2,530
54 Sales Engineers $95,590 $39,840 520
55 Nuclear Power Reactor Operators $95,460 $85,120 240
56 Human Resources Managers $95,330 $49,090 4,110
57 Commercial Pilots $95,260 $62,620 340
58 Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary $94,110 $49,080 60
59 Hydrologists $93,830 $65,230 60
60 Biochemists And Biophysicists $93,330 $49,010 590
61 Public Relations And Fundraising Managers $92,460 $50,540 1,000
62 Electronics Engineers, Except Computer $92,130 $64,220 1,370
63 Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary $91,510 $47,510 230
64 Aerospace Engineers $91,340 $49,000 390
65 Physician Assistants $90,760 $36,310 2,010
66 Software Developers And Software Quality Assurance Analysts And Testers $90,670 $54,320 12,030
67 Atmospheric And Space Scientists $90,470 $50,640 150
68 Nurse Midwives $90,070 $54,640 40
69 Mechanical Engineers $90,030 $54,090 3,650
70 Environmental Engineers $89,830 $54,950 1,000
71 Education Administrators, All Other $89,500 $49,790 710
72 Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary $88,760 $43,260 1,090
73 Airline Pilots, Copilots, And Flight Engineers $88,540 $55,380 270
74 Computer Programmers $88,260 $53,000 2,990
75 Civil Engineers $87,260 $53,820 3,380
76 Financial Examiners $87,180 $43,620 900
77 Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, And Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $86,760 $43,220 120
78 Physics Teachers, Postsecondary $86,710 $43,870 300
79 Education Administrators, Kindergarten Through Secondary $86,200 $58,510 5,520
80 Information Security Analysts $86,190 $48,400 1,920
81 Transportation, Storage, And Distribution Managers $85,970 $46,000 3,550
82 Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary $85,820 $44,950 510
83 Psychologists, All Other $85,800 $37,130 260
84 Family And Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $85,210 $44,700 70
85 Epidemiologists $85,050 $67,770 240
86 Physical Therapists $84,720 $54,200 4,920
87 Postmasters And Mail Superintendents $84,480 $71,490 270
88 Occupational Therapists $84,480 $61,000 2,450
89 Personal Financial Advisors $84,420 $33,180 2,700
90 Data Scientists And Mathematical Science Occupations, All Other $84,080 $53,390 260
91 Transportation Inspectors $84,010 $40,720 350
92 First-Line Supervisors Of Non-Retail Sales Workers $83,020 $40,300 5,630
93 Ship Engineers $82,810 $64,070 260
94 Industrial Engineers $82,740 $52,950 5,470
95 Securities, Commodities, And Financial Services Sales Agents $82,520 $32,620 4,260
96 Engineers, All Other $82,340 $47,110 3,950
97 Agents And Business Managers Of Artists, Performers, And Athletes $81,820 $19,500 800
98 Emergency Management Directors $81,720 $38,760 140
99 Management Analysts $81,150 $48,570 8,360
100 Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $81,010 $40,440 100

If you’re interested, you can read more about the Tennessee job scene here:

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