Helpers--Production Workers in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,978
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$5,352
14.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,646
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
$38,330
Kept after tax
$32,978
Worth in national money
$35,646
State rank
35
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is among the lower-paying states for helpers--production workers. The middle earner takes $38,330, ranking 35 of 49 states — about 1.89% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Tennessee, this one sits low: 412 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,330 you keep $32,978 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $35,646 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $40,090, since top earners drag the number up.
- Tennessee ranks 35 of 49 for helpers--production workers, with a median of $38,330 — about 1.89% 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.
- Helpers--production workers occupies position 412 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 $32,978 after the full tax stack, from $38,330. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,646 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,090 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Helpers--Production Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,120 |
| This salary | $38,330 |
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 | $32,978 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,978 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,709 |
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 | $38,330 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,067 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,330 as a midpoint for Tennessee, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,280 and the ninetieth is $51,120 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Tennessee the take-home figure of $32,978, from $38,330, 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 412 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Tennessee, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,646, the adjusted value of that $38,330 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 412 of 491 in the state.
- The Tennessee median of $38,330 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,280 to $51,120. 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 $32,978 from $38,330. 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 412 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Tennessee, so $35,646 — the adjusted value of that $38,330 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 412 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $40,090 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,280 at the tenth percentile, $51,120 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Tennessee sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $35,646 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $32,978 survives, because Tennessee levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Tennessee is $40,090. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,280 to $51,120) 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 $35,646 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 $32,978 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.