Self-Enrichment Teachers in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,300
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$5,430
14.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,994
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
$38,730
Kept after tax
$33,300
Worth in national money
$35,994
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is among the lower-paying states for self-enrichment teachers. The middle earner takes $38,730, ranking 38 of 51 states — about 17.24% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Tennessee, this one sits low: 406 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,730 you keep $33,300, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $35,994 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $46,410, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Tennessee ranks 38 of 51 for self-enrichment teachers, with a median of $38,730 — about 17.24% 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.
- Self-enrichment teachers occupies position 406 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.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for self-enrichment teachers on $38,730 is $33,300. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $35,994 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 $46,410 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Self-Enrichment Teachers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,730 |
| This salary | $38,730 |
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 | $33,300 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,300 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,726 |
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 | $38,730 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,087 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,730 as a midpoint for Tennessee, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,740 and the ninetieth is $76,730 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Tennessee the take-home figure of $33,300, from $38,730, 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 406 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 $35,994 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 406.
- The Tennessee median of $38,730 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,740 to $76,730. 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 $33,300 from $38,730. 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 406 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,994, worked from $38,730, 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 406 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $46,410, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $23,740 and the top tenth $76,730 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $35,994 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $33,300 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.
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 $46,410. 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 ($23,740) and the ninetieth ($76,730) 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 $35,994 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 $33,300 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.