Chattanooga, TN-GA
Across all occupations in the Chattanooga, TN-GA metropolitan area, the median wage is $46,700 a year ($22.45 an hour) and the mean $58,680, May 2025. That median is −8% against the US median of $50,980 and −1% against Tennessee's $47,380. BLS counts 268,750 jobs in the area, which spans Tennessee and Georgia. The highest-paying occupation is cardiologists; the largest is miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators.
All occupations: Chattanooga, TN-GA vs Tennessee and Georgia and the United States
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | Hourly | $13.33 | $16.83 | $22.45 | $32.28 | $47.95 | $28.21 | 268,750 |
| Annual | $27,730 | $35,010 | $46,700 | $67,130 | $99,740 | $58,680 | ||
| Tennessee | Hourly | $13.75 | $17.23 | $22.78 | $34.16 | $49.58 | $29.23 | 3,278,760 |
| Annual | $28,600 | $35,830 | $47,380 | $71,050 | $103,130 | $60,800 | ||
| Georgia | Hourly | $13.43 | $17.16 | $23.16 | $37.29 | $58.88 | $31.69 | 4,889,170 |
| Annual | $27,930 | $35,700 | $48,170 | $77,570 | $122,470 | $65,920 | ||
| United States | Hourly | $15.00 | $18.07 | $24.51 | $38.71 | $61.81 | $33.54 | 155,495,730 |
| Annual | $31,200 | $37,590 | $50,980 | $80,520 | $128,560 | $69,770 | ||
464 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profiles: Tennessee, Georgia. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.
20 highest-paying occupations in Chattanooga, TN-GA
| Rank | Occupation | Median annual | Median hourly | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiologists | $610,080 | $293.31 | 40 |
| 2 | Physicians, All Other | $429,900 | $206.68 | 330 |
| 3 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $291,200 | $140.00 | 80 |
| 4 | Family Medicine Physicians | $264,690 | $127.26 | 90 |
| 5 | Chief Executives | $209,990 | $100.96 | 440 |
| 6 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $163,720 | $78.71 | 370 |
| 7 | Pediatricians, General | $163,320 | $78.52 | ** |
| 8 | Dentists, General | $160,620 | $77.22 | 190 |
| 9 | Computer and Information Systems Managers in Tennessee | $152,980 | $73.55 | 660 |
| 10 | Financial Managers in Tennessee | $151,530 | $72.85 | 1,280 |
| 11 | Lawyers in Tennessee | $147,640 | $70.98 | 740 |
| 12 | Nuclear Engineers | $146,850 | $70.60 | 100 |
| 13 | Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | $133,060 | $63.97 | 70 |
| 14 | Pharmacists | $132,240 | $63.58 | 750 |
| 15 | Commercial Pilots | $130,630 | * | 40 |
| 16 | Administrative Services Managers | $130,540 | $62.76 | 670 |
| 17 | Human Resources Managers | $129,900 | $62.45 | 320 |
| 18 | Optometrists | $126,600 | $60.87 | 60 |
| 19 | Veterinarians | $125,790 | $60.48 | 190 |
| 20 | Marketing Managers | $124,360 | $59.79 | 460 |
Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.
20 largest occupations in Chattanooga, TN-GA
Most concentrated occupations in Chattanooga, TN-GA
The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.
| Rank | Occupation | Location quotient | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 13.46 | 510 | 1.91 | $40,140 |
| 2 | Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 9.79 | 220 | 0.82 | $44,880 |
| 3 | Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers | 8.95 | 200 | 0.74 | $48,900 |
| 4 | Traffic Technicians | 8.06 | 110 | 0.41 | $44,690 |
| 5 | Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other | 6.39 | 150 | 0.56 | $43,830 |
| 6 | Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other | 4.63 | 280 | 1.04 | $60,580 |
| 7 | Nuclear Engineers | 3.91 | 100 | 0.38 | $146,850 |
| 8 | Production Workers, All Other | 3.64 | 1,580 | 5.89 | $43,160 |
| 9 | Cooks, All Other | 3.42 | 110 | 0.43 | $35,990 |
| 10 | Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Tennessee | 3.34 | 8,120 | 30.21 | $45,330 |
Occupation groups in Chattanooga, TN-GA
| Group | Median annual | Mean annual | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management | $107,810 | $128,860 | 16,250 | 60.48 | 0.84 |
| Architecture and Engineering | $93,950 | $96,960 | 4,960 | 18.45 | 1.10 |
| Computer and Mathematical | $81,890 | $90,970 | 5,490 | 20.41 | 0.60 |
| Legal | $80,480 | $117,770 | 1,460 | 5.45 | 0.65 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | $79,750 | $95,230 | 19,140 | 71.23 | 1.13 |
| Business and Financial Operations | $74,280 | $82,230 | 14,590 | 54.29 | 0.80 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | $68,800 | $81,030 | 1,090 | 4.05 | 0.43 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | $59,170 | $58,250 | 11,620 | 43.23 | 0.74 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | $55,090 | $57,370 | 12,760 | 47.50 | 1.21 |
| Community and Social Service | $52,790 | $55,340 | 4,030 | 15.01 | 0.87 |
| Construction and Extraction | $50,710 | $57,040 | 10,130 | 37.70 | 0.91 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | $47,970 | $60,990 | 2,780 | 10.34 | 0.79 |
| Protective Service | $46,060 | $51,680 | 5,000 | 18.61 | 0.77 |
| Production | $45,470 | $48,770 | 26,250 | 97.68 | 1.77 |
| Office and Administrative Support | $44,630 | $47,170 | 33,970 | 126.40 | 1.11 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | $38,920 | $43,410 | 28,050 | 104.38 | 1.19 |
| Healthcare Support | $38,100 | $39,690 | 9,790 | 36.41 | 0.72 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | $36,790 | $39,450 | 270 | 0.99 | 0.35 |
| Sales and Related | $35,160 | $45,770 | 22,440 | 83.51 | 0.97 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | $33,900 | $35,430 | 8,020 | 29.83 | 1.02 |
| Personal Care and Service | $30,160 | $34,310 | 4,770 | 17.76 | 0.85 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | $28,570 | $30,900 | 25,880 | 96.29 | 1.09 |
Every occupation in Tennessee and Georgia, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profiles. All 464 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.
Source and notes
Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Chattanooga, TN-GA estimates (area 16860).
*- Wage estimate not available.
**- Employment estimate not available.
- Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
- Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
- Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Chattanooga, TN-GA area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
- The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.
- The area spans Tennessee and Georgia; its figures are the whole MSA, as BLS publishes them, under the primary state Tennessee.