Sheet Metal Workers in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,723
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$9,447
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,746
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
$59,170
Kept after tax
$49,723
Worth in national money
$53,746
State rank
32
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Tennessee is 32 of 50 states for sheet metal workers, with a middle wage of $59,170. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Tennessee, this sits in the middle: 214 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $59,170 you keep $49,723, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,746 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $59,390, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Tennessee ranks 32 of 50 for sheet metal workers at $59,170. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Sheet metal workers ranks 214 of 491 occupations in Tennessee by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for sheet metal workers on $59,170 is $49,723. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,746 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 $59,390 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Sheet Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,360 |
| This salary | $59,170 |
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 | $49,723 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,723 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,577 |
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 | $59,170 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,117 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Tennessee earn less than $59,170. The published range is $38,710 up to $79,360, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Tennessee the take-home figure of $49,723, from $59,170, 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 214 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Tennessee, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,746, the adjusted value of that $59,170 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 214 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for sheet metal workers in Tennessee the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,710 to $79,360. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Tennessee is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,723 from $59,170. 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 214 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Tennessee, so $53,746 — the adjusted value of that $59,170 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 214 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,710 and the top tenth $79,360, so most people doing this work in Tennessee sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Tennessee sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $53,746 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $49,723 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,710 to $79,360) 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 $53,746 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 $49,723 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.