Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,901
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$9,979
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,100
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
$61,880
Kept after tax
$51,901
Worth in national money
$56,100
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Tennessee. The middle earner gets $61,880. That is 42 of 51 states, and about 5.54% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Tennessee reports figures for, this is number 182.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,880 you keep $51,901, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $56,100 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $63,020, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines, Tennessee sits in the lower band at $61,880, ranking 42 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 5.54%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Tennessee's occupational distribution, mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines sits at 182 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 mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines on $61,880 is $51,901. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $56,100 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 $63,020 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,850 |
| This salary | $61,880 |
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 | $51,901 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,901 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,690 |
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 | $61,880 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,254 |
| 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 mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines in Tennessee earn under $61,880 and half over. The published range runs $47,100 at the tenth percentile to $80,850 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 $51,901, worked from $61,880. 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 182 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $56,100 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 182.
- Figures are distribution medians for mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,100 to $80,850; 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 $51,901, on $61,880 for work ranking 182 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 182 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $56,100, worked from $61,880, 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 182 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $47,100 at the tenth percentile, $80,850 at the ninetieth.
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 $56,100.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $51,901 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
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 ($47,100 to $80,850) 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 $56,100 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 $51,901 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.