Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,725
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$7,735
15.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,181
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
$50,460
Kept after tax
$42,725
Worth in national money
$46,181
State rank
27
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $50,460, ranking 27 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 267 among 491 occupations Tennessee publishes pay for.
- Tennessee is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $50,460 the take-home is $42,725; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,181 would nationally. The average comes to $51,950, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Tennessee occupies the middle band for structural metal fabricators and fitters: a median of $50,460, ranking 27 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 267 of 491 in Tennessee places structural metal fabricators and fitters in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for structural metal fabricators and fitters in Tennessee, on $50,460, is $42,725 — equivalent to $46,181 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $51,950 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,350 |
| This salary | $50,460 |
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 | $42,725 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,725 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,215 |
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 | $50,460 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,678 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $50,460 as a midpoint for Tennessee, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,760 and the ninetieth is $64,350 — 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 $42,725, worked from $50,460. 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 267 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,181 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 267.
- The Tennessee median of $50,460 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,760 to $64,350. 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 $42,725, on $50,460 for work ranking 267 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 267 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,181, worked from $50,460, 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 267 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,760 at the tenth percentile, $64,350 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,181 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $42,725 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 ($38,760 to $64,350) 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 $46,181 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 $42,725 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.