Protective Service Workers, All Other in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,614
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$6,486
14.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,658
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
$44,100
Kept after tax
$37,614
Worth in national money
$40,658
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $44,100, ranking 34 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Tennessee reports figures for, this is number 357.
- Tennessee is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $44,100 the take-home is $37,614; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $40,658 would nationally. The average comes to $49,730, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Tennessee occupies the middle band for protective service workers, all other: a median of $44,100, ranking 34 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Tennessee's occupational distribution, protective service workers, all other sits at 357 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.
- Post-tax income for protective service workers, all other in Tennessee, on $44,100, is $37,614 — equivalent to $40,658 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $49,730 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Protective Service Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,340 |
| This salary | $44,100 |
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 | $37,614 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,614 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,950 |
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 | $44,100 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,358 |
| 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 protective service workers, all other in Tennessee earn under $44,100 and half over. The published range runs $33,170 at the tenth percentile to $77,340 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,614 take-home in Tennessee comes from $44,100. 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 357 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $40,658 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 357.
- Figures are distribution medians for protective service workers, all other in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,170 to $77,340; 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 $37,614, from $44,100, 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 357 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 34 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,658, worked from $44,100, 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 357 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 $49,730 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $33,170 at the bottom tenth to $77,340 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $40,658 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $37,614 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?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $49,730. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($33,170) and the ninetieth ($77,340) 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 $40,658 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 $37,614 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.