Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,321
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$9,349
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,312
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
$58,670
Kept after tax
$49,321
Worth in national money
$53,312
State rank
31
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Tennessee is 31 of 48 states for earth drillers, except oil and gas, with a middle wage of $58,670. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Tennessee, this sits in the middle: 218 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,670 you keep $49,321, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,312 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $59,600, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Tennessee ranks 31 of 48 for earth drillers, except oil and gas at $58,670. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas ranks 218 of 491 occupations in Tennessee by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for earth drillers, except oil and gas on $58,670 is $49,321. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,312 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $59,600 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,630 |
| This salary | $58,670 |
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 | $49,321 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,321 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,557 |
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 | $58,670 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,092 |
| 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 earth drillers, except oil and gas in Tennessee earn under $58,670 and half over. The published range runs $43,620 at the tenth percentile to $76,630 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Tennessee's $49,321, worked from $58,670. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 218 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Tennessee, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,312, the adjusted value of that $58,670 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 218 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for earth drillers, except oil and gas in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,620 to $76,630; 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.
- The Tennessee take-home of $49,321, on $58,670 for work ranking 218 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 218 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Tennessee, so $53,312 — the adjusted value of that $58,670 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 218 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $43,620 at the bottom tenth to $76,630 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $53,312 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $49,321 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?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($43,620 to $76,630) 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 $53,312 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 $49,321 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.