Database Architects in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$89,852
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$25,318
22.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$97,122
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
$115,170
Kept after tax
$89,852
Worth in national money
$97,122
State rank
38
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is among the lower-paying states for database architects. The middle earner takes $115,170, ranking 38 of 46 states — about 17.44% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Tennessee. It ranks 34 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $115,170 you keep $89,852 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $97,122 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $117,980, since top earners drag the number up.
- Tennessee ranks 38 of 46 for database architects, with a median of $115,170 — about 17.44% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Within Tennessee, database architects ranks 34 of 491 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Tennessee is $89,852 after the full tax stack, from $115,170. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $97,122 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $117,980 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Database Architects
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $73,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $115,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $170,520 |
| This salary | $115,170 |
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 | $89,852 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $89,852 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,657 |
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 | $115,170 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,433 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of database architects in Tennessee earn under $115,170 and half over. The published range runs $73,440 at the tenth percentile to $170,520 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $89,852 take-home in Tennessee comes from $115,170. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 34 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $97,122 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 34.
- Figures are distribution medians for database architects in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $73,440 to $170,520; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $89,852, from $115,170, assumes a single Tennessee filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 34 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $97,122, worked from $115,170, 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 34 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $73,440, the highest tenth $170,520, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Tennessee is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $97,122 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $89,852 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.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($73,440) and the ninetieth ($170,520) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $97,122 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 $89,852 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.