Speech-Language Pathologists in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$68,367
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$16,263
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,899
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
$84,630
Kept after tax
$68,367
Worth in national money
$73,899
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Tennessee pays speech-language pathologists around $84,630 at the midpoint, 32 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Tennessee. It ranks 79 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $84,630 you keep $68,367, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $73,899 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $85,050, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For speech-language pathologists the Tennessee median is $84,630, ranking 32 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Tennessee, speech-language pathologists ranks 79 of 491 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for speech-language pathologists on $84,630 is $68,367. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $73,899 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 $85,050 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Speech-Language Pathologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,630 |
| Top tenth earn over | $116,790 |
| This salary | $84,630 |
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 | $68,367 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,367 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,544 |
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 | $84,630 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,895 |
| 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 speech-language pathologists in Tennessee earn under $84,630 and half over. The published range runs $58,550 at the tenth percentile to $116,790 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Tennessee the take-home figure of $68,367, from $84,630, 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 79 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 $73,899 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 79.
- Figures are distribution medians for speech-language pathologists in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $58,550 to $116,790; 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.
- Take-home for Tennessee is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $68,367 from $84,630. 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 79 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $73,899, worked from $84,630, 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 79 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $58,550 and the top tenth $116,790, 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 $73,899 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $68,367 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($58,550 to $116,790) 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 $73,899 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 $68,367 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.