Cleveland, TN

Across all occupations in the Cleveland, TN metropolitan area, the median wage is $40,230 a year ($19.34 an hour) and the mean $50,670, May 2025. That median is −21% against the US median of $50,980 and −15% against Tennessee's $47,380. BLS counts 43,010 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is physicians, all other; the largest is laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand.

All occupations: Cleveland, TN vs Tennessee and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Cleveland, TN area, Tennessee and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Cleveland, TN	Hourly	$12.40	$14.87	$19.34	$28.33	$38.59	$24.36	43,010
Cleveland, TN	Annual	$25,780	$30,920	$40,230	$58,920	$80,280	$50,670	43,010
Tennessee	Hourly	$13.75	$17.23	$22.78	$34.16	$49.58	$29.23	3,278,760
Tennessee	Annual	$28,600	$35,830	$47,380	$71,050	$103,130	$60,800	3,278,760
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

198 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Tennessee. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Cleveland, TN

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Physicians, All Other	$221,420	$106.45	40
2	Chief Executives	$140,930	$67.76	40
3	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$139,420	$67.03	50
4	Lawyers in Tennessee	$131,980	$63.45	60
5	Financial Managers in Tennessee	$131,860	$63.40	130
6	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Tennessee	$125,380	$60.28	70
7	Pharmacists	$124,160	$59.69	120
8	Sales Managers in Tennessee	$123,610	$59.43	130
9	Dentists, General	$122,910	$59.09	40
10	Marketing Managers	$114,570	$55.08	60
11	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	$109,730	$52.76	80
12	Human Resources Managers	$107,470	$51.67	40
13	Nurse Practitioners	$107,360	$51.62	170
14	Industrial Production Managers	$105,780	$50.86	170
15	Electrical Engineers	$104,280	$50.14	70
16	Software Developers in Tennessee	$102,600	$49.33	110
17	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	$99,640	*	100
18	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$99,130	$47.66	60
19	Industrial Engineers	$96,360	$46.33	120
20	Administrative Services Managers	$96,140	$46.22	80

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 Cleveland, TN

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Tennessee	1,900	44.28	2.33	$38,460
2	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Tennessee	1,830	42.66	1.72	$26,140
3	Retail Salespersons in Tennessee	1,230	28.66	1.14	$32,160
4	Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Tennessee	1,100	25.57	2.83	$44,110
5	Cashiers in Tennessee	1,000	23.33	1.17	$27,140
6	Stockers and Order Fillers in Tennessee	990	23.03	1.26	$32,870
7	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Tennessee	970	22.55	1.70	$49,250
8	Waiters and Waitresses in Tennessee	720	16.73	1.15	$23,300
9	General and Operations Managers in Tennessee	690	16.09	0.71	$92,800
10	Registered Nurses in Tennessee	630	14.63	0.67	$72,800
10	Office Clerks, General in Tennessee	630	14.63	0.92	$36,100
12	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Tennessee	600	14.01	1.52	$59,190
13	Customer Service Representatives in Tennessee	590	13.78	0.83	$37,600
14	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Tennessee	540	12.57	0.45	$31,620
15	Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Tennessee	510	11.87	1.92	$38,580
16	First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Tennessee	500	11.72	1.49	$36,580
16	Production Workers, All Other	500	11.68	7.22	$38,010
18	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Tennessee	450	10.52	1.07	$45,830
19	Nursing Assistants in Tennessee	440	10.21	1.10	$37,130
20	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers in Tennessee	430	9.91	2.29	$58,120

Most concentrated occupations in Cleveland, TN

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	Production Workers, All Other	7.22	500	11.68	$38,010
2	Telemarketers	6.48	100	2.44	$28,040
3	Food Processing Workers, All Other	5.55	100	2.32	$39,380
4	Industrial Machinery Mechanics	2.97	360	8.41	$60,420
5	Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Tennessee	2.83	1,100	25.57	$44,110
6	Industrial Production Managers	2.43	170	3.84	$105,780
7	Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers	2.34	350	8.17	$24,240
8	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Tennessee	2.33	1,900	44.28	$38,460
9	Bakers	2.31	150	3.51	$29,420
10	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers in Tennessee	2.29	430	9.91	$58,120

Occupation groups in Cleveland, TN

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$99,480	$115,070	2,300	53.40	0.75
Architecture and Engineering	$81,580	$87,470	420	9.85	0.59
Legal	$77,880	$102,240	130	3.09	0.37
Computer and Mathematical	$75,360	$87,400	520	12.12	0.36
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$72,680	$84,270	2,310	53.79	0.85
Business and Financial Operations	$63,760	$71,480	1,460	33.87	0.50
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$59,800	$68,170	240	5.59	0.59
Educational Instruction and Library	$59,330	$54,360	2,550	59.25	1.01
Community and Social Service	$50,660	$53,720	570	13.27	0.77
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$50,280	$56,010	1,900	44.16	1.13
Construction and Extraction	$47,470	$51,870	1,520	35.44	0.86
Protective Service	$44,790	$48,730	710	16.58	0.68
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$43,750	$48,620	280	6.47	0.49
Office and Administrative Support	$40,700	$44,220	5,040	117.31	1.03
Production	$39,610	$43,240	5,090	118.28	2.15
Transportation and Material Moving	$38,460	$41,440	5,360	124.62	1.42
Healthcare Support	$35,740	$36,910	1,590	37.07	0.73
Sales and Related	$33,390	$41,950	3,790	88.24	1.02
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$30,470	$34,320	**	**	**
Personal Care and Service	$28,620	$31,240	1,030	23.91	1.14
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$26,760	$28,770	4,890	113.78	1.29
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	–	–	–	–	–

Every occupation in Tennessee, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 198 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 Cleveland, TN estimates (area 17420).

*: 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 Cleveland, TN 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.