Industrial Machinery Mechanics in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$54,416
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$10,594
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,818
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
$65,010
Kept after tax
$54,416
Worth in national money
$58,818
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Tennessee pays this job around $65,010 at the midpoint, 27 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Tennessee reports figures for, this is number 153.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $65,010 you keep $54,416, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $58,818 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $66,880, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For industrial machinery mechanics the Tennessee median is $65,010, ranking 27 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Tennessee's occupational distribution, industrial machinery mechanics sits at 153 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for industrial machinery mechanics on $65,010 is $54,416. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $58,818 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 $66,880 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Industrial Machinery Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,610 |
| This salary | $65,010 |
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 | $54,416 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,416 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,821 |
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 | $65,010 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,684 |
| 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 industrial machinery mechanics in Tennessee earn under $65,010 and half over. The published range runs $45,530 at the tenth percentile to $88,610 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 $54,416, worked from $65,010. 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 153 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $58,818 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 153.
- Figures are distribution medians for industrial machinery mechanics in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,530 to $88,610; 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 $54,416, on $65,010 for work ranking 153 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 153 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $58,818, worked from $65,010, 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 153 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,530 and the top tenth $88,610, so most people doing this work in Tennessee sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $58,818.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $54,416 survives, because Tennessee levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 ($45,530 to $88,610) 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 $58,818 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 $54,416 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.