Food Processing Workers, All Other in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,481
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$6,209
14.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,433
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
$42,690
Kept after tax
$36,481
Worth in national money
$39,433
State rank
14
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is one of the better-paying states for food processing workers, all other. The middle earner takes $42,690, which ranks 14 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 7.59% above the national middle.
- Within Tennessee this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, food processing workers, all other ranks 370. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $42,690 you keep $36,481 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $39,433 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $42,440.
- Tennessee ranks 14 of 46 states publishing a median for food processing workers, all other, at $42,690 — about 7.59% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation Tennessee reports, food processing workers, all other ranks 370 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in Tennessee is $36,481 after the full tax stack, from $42,690. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,433 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,440 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,690 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,610 |
| This salary | $42,690 |
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 | $36,481 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,481 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,891 |
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 | $42,690 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,287 |
| 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 food processing workers, all other in Tennessee earn under $42,690 and half over. The published range runs $35,900 at the tenth percentile to $50,610 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 $36,481, worked from $42,690. 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 370 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,433 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 370.
- Figures are distribution medians for food processing workers, all other in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,900 to $50,610; 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 $36,481, on $42,690 for work ranking 370 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 370 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,433, worked from $42,690, 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 370 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,900 at the bottom tenth to $50,610 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 $39,433 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $36,481 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
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 46 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 ($35,900 to $50,610) 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 $39,433 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 $36,481 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.