Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,210
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$10,300
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,515
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
$63,510
Kept after tax
$53,210
Worth in national money
$57,515
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Tennessee is 29 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $63,510. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Tennessee reports figures for, this is number 165.
- Tennessee is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $63,510 the take-home is $53,210; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $57,515 would nationally. The average comes to $63,580, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Tennessee ranks 29 of 51 for telecommunications line installers and repairers at $63,510. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Tennessee's occupational distribution, telecommunications line installers and repairers sits at 165 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for telecommunications line installers and repairers in Tennessee, on $63,510, is $53,210 — equivalent to $57,515 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 $63,580 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,820 |
| This salary | $63,510 |
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 | $53,210 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,210 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,758 |
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 | $63,510 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,385 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $63,510 as a midpoint for Tennessee, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $45,720 and the ninetieth is $83,820 — 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 $53,210, worked from $63,510. 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 165 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,515 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 165.
- The Tennessee median of $63,510 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $45,720 to $83,820. 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 $53,210, on $63,510 for work ranking 165 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 165 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,515, worked from $63,510, 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 165 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,720 at the bottom tenth to $83,820 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $57,515 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $53,210 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,720 to $83,820) 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 $57,515 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 $53,210 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.