Library Assistants, Clerical in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,239
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$5,171
13.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,847
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
$37,410
Kept after tax
$32,239
Worth in national money
$34,847
State rank
19
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee sits in the middle of the pack for library assistants, clerical. The median is $37,410, ranking 19 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Tennessee, this one sits low: 419 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,410 you keep $32,239 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $34,847 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $37,990, since top earners drag the number up.
- Tennessee occupies the middle band for library assistants, clerical: a median of $37,410, ranking 19 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Library assistants, clerical occupies position 419 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 $32,239 after the full tax stack, from $37,410. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,847 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $37,990 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Library Assistants, Clerical
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $24,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,230 |
| This salary | $37,410 |
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 | $32,239 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,239 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,671 |
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 | $37,410 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,021 |
| 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 library assistants, clerical in Tennessee earn under $37,410 and half over. The published range runs $24,180 at the tenth percentile to $54,230 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $32,239 take-home in Tennessee comes from $37,410. 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 419 of 491.
- Two cautions on $34,847, the adjusted value of that $37,410 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Tennessee. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 419 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for library assistants, clerical in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $24,180 to $54,230; 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 $32,239, from $37,410, 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 419 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 19 of 50 for it.
- This $34,847 adjusted figure, worked from $37,410, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 419 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 419 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $24,180 and the top tenth $54,230 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $34,847 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $32,239 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 50 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 ($24,180) and the ninetieth ($54,230) 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 $34,847 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 $32,239 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.