Couriers and Messengers in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,537
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$5,733
14.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,331
Tennessee costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Tennessee — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$40,270
Kept after tax
$34,537
Worth in national money
$37,331
State rank
16
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for couriers and messengers is strong here. Tennessee's middle earner gets $40,270, putting the state 16 of 51 — about 2.73% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Tennessee, this one sits low: 389 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $40,270 you keep $34,537 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $37,331 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $40,460, since top earners drag the number up.
- For couriers and messengers, Tennessee sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $40,270, ranking 16 of 51 and running about 2.73% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Couriers and messengers occupies position 389 of 491 in Tennessee's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in Tennessee is $34,537 after the full tax stack, from $40,270. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $37,331 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,460 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,940 |
| This salary | $40,270 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Tennessee | $34,537 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,537 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,790 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $40,270 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,165 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $40,270 as a midpoint for Tennessee, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $33,360 and the ninetieth is $46,940 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Tennessee the take-home figure of $34,537, from $40,270, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 389 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,331 uses one figure for the whole of Tennessee. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 389.
- The Tennessee median of $40,270 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $33,360 to $46,940. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Tennessee is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $34,537 from $40,270. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 389 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,331, worked from $40,270, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Tennessee address, on work sitting at 389 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $33,360 at the tenth percentile, $46,940 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $37,331.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $34,537 of this wage reaches your account, because Tennessee takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,360 to $46,940) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Tennessee rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Tennessee's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $37,331 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Tennessee levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $34,537 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.