Waiters and Waitresses in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,470
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$3,290
11.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,450
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
$27,760
Kept after tax
$24,470
Worth in national money
$26,450
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is among the lower-paying states for waiters and waitresses. The middle earner takes $27,760, ranking 37 of 51 states — about 21.2% 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: 487 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Tennessee is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $27,760 the take-home is $24,470; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $26,450 would nationally. The average comes to $29,070, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Tennessee ranks 37 of 51 for waiters and waitresses, with a median of $27,760 — about 21.2% 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.
- Waiters and waitresses occupies position 487 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.
- Post-tax income for waiters and waitresses in Tennessee, on $27,760, is $24,470 — equivalent to $26,450 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 $29,070 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Waiters and Waitresses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $15,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,660 |
| This salary | $27,760 |
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 | $24,470 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,470 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,268 |
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 | $27,760 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,516 |
| 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 $27,760. The published range is $15,080 up to $47,660, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $24,470 take-home in Tennessee comes from $27,760. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 487 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $26,450 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 487.
- Reported values are medians; for waiters and waitresses in Tennessee the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $15,080 to $47,660. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $24,470, from $27,760, assumes a single Tennessee filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 487 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 37 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $26,450, worked from $27,760, 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 487 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 $29,070, 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 $15,080 and the top tenth $47,660 — 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 $26,450 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $24,470 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 $29,070. 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 ($15,080) and the ninetieth ($47,660) 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 $26,450 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 $24,470 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.