The 10 Lowest Paying Jobs In Tennessee For 2019

Back in high school I had the best job you could have in high school, I worked at the local movie theater for minimum wage plus free popcorn and movies. I was happy to make minimum wage back then, but now I couldn’t imagine living on the $5.86/hr I was making.

All of this reminiscing got me wondering, who gets paid the least in Tennessee?

So to piggy-backing on our research into the highest paying jobs in Tennessee, we decided to use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the lowest paying jobs.

After combing through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we discovered that Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, And Coffee Shop are the lowest paid people in Tennessee.

Here’s a quick look at the 10 lowest paying jobs in Tennessee:

For more information on how much the lowest paying jobs pay, read on, or check out this other reading on Tennessee:

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

How we determined the lowest paid jobs in Tennessee

We looked at the BLS’s data set for all 704 job classifications in Tennessee in order to identify those that get paid the least.

We will update the data annually as it becomes available from the BLS. The most recent data is as of May 2018.

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Lowest Paying Jobs In Tennessee

Rank	Job Title	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, And Coffee Shop	$19,270	$16,170	15,750
2	Hosts And Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, And Coffee Shop	$19,580	$16,460	10,270
3	Waiters And Waitresses	$19,870	$16,210	53,200
4	Combined Food Preparation And Serving Workers, Including Fast Food	$19,870	$16,430	72,600
5	Ushers, Lobby Attendants, And Ticket Takers	$20,000	$16,610	3,730
6	Substitute Teachers	$20,250	$16,170	4,970
7	Dining Room And Cafeteria Attendants And Bartender Helpers	$20,310	$16,510	5,890
8	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers	$20,320	$16,460	2,650
9	Dishwashers	$20,470	$16,600	8,980
10	Cooks, Fast Food	$20,490	$16,560	16,840
11	Personal Care Aides	$21,060	$16,740	21,100
12	Bartenders	$21,180	$16,190	7,090
13	Childcare Workers	$21,270	$16,430	9,660
14	Cashiers	$21,360	$16,550	76,290
15	Laundry And Dry-Cleaning Workers	$21,540	$16,650	5,370
16	Amusement And Recreation Attendants	$21,710	$16,480	5,430
17	Residential Advisors	$21,760	$16,910	7,340
18	Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	$21,830	$16,660	6,310
19	Hotel, Motel, And Resort Desk Clerks	$21,860	$16,720	5,940
20	Maids And Housekeeping Cleaners	$21,890	$16,720	17,810
21	Food Preparation Workers	$22,160	$16,610	18,060
22	Cooks, Short Order	$22,420	$17,190	5,690
23	Home Health Aides	$22,620	$17,260	4,750
24	Shampooers	$22,650	$17,290	130
25	Farmworkers And Laborers, Crop, Nursery, And Greenhouse	$22,700	$16,780	1,020
26	Cooks, All Other	$22,880	$16,230	1,340
27	Locker Room, Coatroom, And Dressing Room Attendants	$23,130	$17,280	90
28	Parking Lot Attendants	$23,190	$17,340	2,720
29	Graduate Teaching Assistants	$23,330	$16,090	450
30	Psychiatric Aides	$23,500	$17,220	1,530
31	Nonfarm Animal Caretakers	$23,530	$16,770	3,350
32	Baggage Porters And Bellhops	$23,550	$16,600	720
33	Transportation Attendants, Except Flight Attendants	$23,640	$17,140	80
34	Orderlies	$24,330	$18,120	750
35	Manicurists And Pedicurists	$24,350	$16,760	500
36	Cooks, Restaurant	$24,370	$17,300	22,630
37	Janitors And Cleaners, Except Maids And Housekeeping Cleaners	$24,430	$16,980	38,400
38	Sewing Machine Operators	$24,470	$17,130	3,700
39	Packers And Packagers, Hand	$24,710	$17,230	17,400
40	Automotive And Watercraft Service Attendants	$24,760	$17,680	3,660
41	Tour And Travel Guides	$24,800	$16,650	1,340
42	Teacher Assistants	$24,890	$16,890	22,240
43	Etchers And Engravers	$24,900	$16,210	80
44	Veterinary Assistants And Laboratory Animal Caretakers	$24,960	$18,450	2,480
45	Telemarketers	$25,040	$16,840	2,880
46	Recreation Workers	$25,060	$16,820	6,920
47	Taxi Drivers And Chauffeurs	$25,150	$17,300	2,860
48	Pharmacy Aides	$25,200	$17,600	2,210
49	Personal Care And Service Workers, All Other	$25,300	$16,470	570
50	Slaughterers And Meat Packers	$25,320	$19,840	750
51	Dietetic Technicians	$25,490	$17,060	850
52	Forest And Conservation Workers	$25,570	$20,450	300
53	Cooks, Institution And Cafeteria	$25,580	$18,450	9,800
54	Physical Therapist Aides	$25,740	$16,480	1,280
55	Cleaners Of Vehicles And Equipment	$25,750	$17,620	6,210
56	Photographic Process Workers And Processing Machine Operators	$25,820	$20,500	1,220
57	Floral Designers	$25,860	$17,080	880
58	Driver/sales Workers	$25,900	$16,540	7,490
59	Motion Picture Projectionists	$25,920	$17,290	100
60	Rehabilitation Counselors	$26,080	$16,870	2,170
61	Concierges	$26,150	$20,670	690
62	Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders	$26,190	$18,690	560
63	Pressers, Textile, Garment, And Related Materials	$26,330	$17,960	730
64	Meat, Poultry, And Fish Cutters And Trimmers	$26,340	$19,860	3,320
65	Nursing Assistants	$26,400	$20,170	28,340
66	Graders And Sorters, Agricultural Products	$26,470	$21,240	330
67	Public Address System And Other Announcers	$26,600	$16,660	120
68	Bakers	$26,610	$19,820	2,760
69	Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, And Aquacultural Animals	$26,660	$17,210	570
70	Stock Clerks And Order Fillers	$26,730	$17,600	57,190
71	Psychiatric Technicians	$26,730	$20,990	1,010
72	Landscaping And Groundskeeping Workers	$27,030	$17,920	14,260
73	Food Preparation And Serving Related Workers, All Other	$27,130	$17,090	1,270
74	Textile Knitting And Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders	$27,150	$21,060	560
75	Funeral Attendants	$27,220	$17,840	1,060
76	Logging Workers, All Other	$27,310	$20,680	50
77	Counter And Rental Clerks	$27,360	$17,010	6,860
78	Telephone Operators	$27,610	$21,580	70
79	Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Wood	$27,680	$18,640	1,290
80	Helpers, Construction Trades, All Other	$27,680	$17,640	1,030
81	Retail Salespersons	$27,790	$17,120	88,980
82	Food Processing Workers, All Other	$27,860	$20,620	1,380
83	Bus Drivers, School Or Special Client	$27,880	$17,420	9,750
84	Receptionists And Information Clerks	$27,990	$18,540	18,690
85	Tellers	$28,100	$20,910	11,000
86	Library Technicians	$28,160	$17,600	1,100
87	Library Assistants, Clerical	$28,200	$17,390	1,390
88	Animal Trainers	$28,220	$19,700	80
89	Shoe And Leather Workers And Repairers	$28,230	$17,790	360
90	Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists	$28,300	$16,950	6,980
91	Building Cleaning Workers, All Other	$28,440	$21,030	140
92	Helpers–Roofers	$28,770	$20,720	200
93	Mail Clerks And Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service	$28,790	$17,440	1,420
94	Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Except Sawing	$28,800	$18,300	2,110
95	Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service	$28,980	$18,970	1,580
96	Helpers–Carpenters	$29,150	$20,540	610
97	Upholsterers	$29,160	$20,260	890
98	Tailors, Dressmakers, And Custom Sewers	$29,170	$21,540	500
99	Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand	$29,300	$19,650	95,200
100	Tire Repairers And Changers	$29,610	$18,970	2,730

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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