Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,303
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$13,707
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,344
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
$76,010
Kept after tax
$62,303
Worth in national money
$67,344
State rank
38
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $76,010, ranking 38 of 50 states — about 5.39% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 491 occupations Tennessee reports, this job comes in at 122 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $76,010 you keep $62,303, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $67,344 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $85,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Tennessee ranks 38 of 50 for psychology teachers, postsecondary, with a median of $76,010 — about 5.39% 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.
- Psychology teachers, postsecondary ranks 122 of 491 occupations by median in Tennessee, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for psychology teachers, postsecondary on $76,010 is $62,303. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $67,344 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 $85,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,760 |
| This salary | $76,010 |
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 | $62,303 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,303 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,229 |
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 | $76,010 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,461 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $76,010 as a midpoint for Tennessee, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $50,860 and the ninetieth is $127,760 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Tennessee the take-home figure of $62,303, from $76,010, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 122 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $67,344 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 122.
- The Tennessee median of $76,010 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $50,860 to $127,760. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Tennessee is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $62,303 from $76,010. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 122 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $67,344, worked from $76,010, 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 122 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 $85,010 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 $50,860 at the bottom tenth to $127,760 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 $67,344 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $62,303 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 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $85,010. 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 ($50,860) and the ninetieth ($127,760) 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 $67,344 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 $62,303 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.