Psychiatrists in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$159,886
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$54,994
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$172,822
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
$214,880
Kept after tax
$159,886
Worth in national money
$172,822
State rank
37
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is among the lower-paying states for psychiatrists. The middle earner takes $214,880, ranking 37 of 46 states — about 23.77% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Tennessee this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, psychiatrists ranks 4 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $214,880 you keep $159,886, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $172,822 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $210,520, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Tennessee ranks 37 of 46 for psychiatrists, with a median of $214,880 — about 23.77% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Tennessee publishes a median for, psychiatrists sits 4 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for psychiatrists on $214,880 is $159,886. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $172,822 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 $210,520 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Psychiatrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $214,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $359,990 |
| This salary | $214,880 |
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 | $159,886 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $159,886 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$8,288 |
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 | $214,880 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$11,902 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $214,880 as a midpoint for Tennessee, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $65,820 and the ninetieth is $359,990 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Tennessee's $159,886, worked from $214,880. 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 4 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Tennessee, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $172,822, the adjusted value of that $214,880 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 4 of 491 in the state.
- The Tennessee median of $214,880 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $65,820 to $359,990. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Tennessee take-home of $159,886, on $214,880 for work ranking 4 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 4 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Tennessee, so $172,822 — the adjusted value of that $214,880 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 4 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $65,820 at the bottom tenth to $359,990 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 $172,822 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $159,886 of this wage reaches your account, because Tennessee takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 ($65,820) and the ninetieth ($359,990) 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 $172,822 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 $159,886 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.