Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

Across all occupations in the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA metropolitan area, the median wage is $45,240 a year ($21.75 an hour) and the mean $56,140, May 2025. That median is −11% against the US median of $50,980 and −5% against Tennessee's $47,380. BLS counts 119,560 jobs in the area, which spans Tennessee and Virginia. The highest-paying occupation is family medicine physicians; the largest is fast food and counter workers.

All occupations: Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA vs Tennessee and Virginia and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA area, Tennessee and Virginia and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmployment
10th25thMedian75th90th
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VAHourly$13.18$16.38$21.75$30.73$46.20$26.99119,560
Annual$27,410$34,070$45,240$63,910$96,090$56,140
TennesseeHourly$13.75$17.23$22.78$34.16$49.58$29.233,278,760
Annual$28,600$35,830$47,380$71,050$103,130$60,800
VirginiaHourly$14.68$18.14$26.78$42.99$66.83$35.604,109,320
Annual$30,530$37,720$55,690$89,420$139,010$74,040
United StatesHourly$15.00$18.07$24.51$38.71$61.81$33.54155,495,730
Annual$31,200$37,590$50,980$80,520$128,560$69,770
$0$25k$50k$75k$100k10th10th: $27,410$27,41025th25th: $34,070$34,070MedianMedian: $45,240$45,24075th75th: $63,910$63,91090th90th: $96,090$96,090US median
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.

347 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profiles: Tennessee, Virginia. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

RankOccupationMedian annualMedian hourlyEmployment
1Family Medicine Physicians$352,590$169.52150
2Chief Executives$189,410$91.06100
3Dentists, General$173,810$83.5690
4Optometrists$150,420$72.3250
5Architectural and Engineering Managers$138,550$66.61250
6Marketing Managers$136,240$65.50360
7Pharmacists$133,270$64.07370
8Industrial Production Managers$133,240$64.06380
9Sales Managers in Tennessee$132,950$63.92270
10Human Resources Managers$132,680$63.79150
11Financial Managers in Tennessee$132,280$63.60500
12Computer Network Architects$131,420$63.18210
13Computer and Information Systems Managers in Tennessee$130,830$62.90330
14Purchasing Managers$130,490$62.7480
15Physicians, All Other$124,130$59.68140
16Administrative Services Managers$122,130$58.71190
17Nurse Practitioners$118,470$56.96480
18Physician Assistants$117,490$56.49130
19Construction Managers$116,980$56.24280
20Software Developers in Tennessee$115,310$55.44430

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 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

RankOccupationEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotientMedian annual
1Fast Food and Counter Workers in Tennessee4,17034.871.41$26,890
2Retail Salespersons in Tennessee3,62030.251.21$31,200
3Cashiers in Tennessee3,09025.821.30$27,420
4Stockers and Order Fillers in Tennessee2,91024.301.33$35,760
5Registered Nurses in Tennessee2,66022.221.02$76,730
6Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Tennessee2,61021.821.15$35,300
7Customer Service Representatives in Tennessee2,13017.831.07$36,130
8General and Operations Managers in Tennessee2,03017.020.76$97,450
9Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Tennessee1,96016.411.82$39,480
10Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Tennessee1,88015.721.19$54,700
11Waiters and Waitresses in Tennessee1,80015.031.03$28,210
12Office Clerks, General in Tennessee1,69014.150.89$38,030
13Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Tennessee1,60013.352.16$36,800
14Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Tennessee1,54012.910.91$31,070
15Construction Laborers in Tennessee1,43011.951.69$45,370
15Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Tennessee1,43011.951.22$46,520
17Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Tennessee1,41011.761.29$29,260
18Nursing Assistants in Tennessee1,40011.691.25$37,550
19First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Tennessee1,38011.511.25$60,690
20Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Tennessee1,29010.800.39$29,760

Most concentrated occupations in Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

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.

RankOccupationLocation quotientEmploymentJobs per 1,000Median annual
1Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders15.002502.12$47,750
2Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers9.651000.80$71,610
3Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic6.271601.34$47,720
4Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment4.992502.09$65,930
5Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4.332001.64$43,530
6Pipelayers3.741000.80$42,990
7Couriers and Messengers3.451801.52$35,490
8Industrial Machinery Mechanics3.241,1009.17$62,300
9Ophthalmic Medical Technicians3.131701.43$36,140
10Helpers--Electricians3.081501.26$43,120

Occupation groups in Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

GroupMedian annualMean annualEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Management$110,070$126,9906,75056.450.79
Architecture and Engineering$94,560$97,4102,01016.801.00
Legal$84,200$103,2806105.090.61
Computer and Mathematical$83,550$92,0202,13017.840.53
Life, Physical, and Social Science$77,990$82,9201,0909.160.97
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical$76,010$89,5108,48070.951.12
Business and Financial Operations$70,990$75,6405,30044.360.65
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair$57,510$57,9506,06050.661.29
Educational Instruction and Library$50,640$50,3206,33052.910.90
Community and Social Service$49,510$52,8801,80015.090.88
Construction and Extraction$49,050$54,4405,83048.751.18
Protective Service$48,420$49,8302,57021.460.88
Production$47,160$50,77011,85099.141.80
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media$42,550$49,6401,0208.510.65
Office and Administrative Support$39,920$44,69014,040117.451.03
Transportation and Material Moving$37,480$42,25011,61097.141.10
Healthcare Support$36,980$38,3104,61038.580.76
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry$36,230$39,9601100.920.33
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance$32,780$35,2303,06025.630.88
Sales and Related$32,380$42,35010,91091.261.06
Personal Care and Service$29,480$33,3301,50012.520.60
Food Preparation and Serving Related$28,040$30,98011,88099.361.13

Every occupation in Tennessee and Virginia, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profiles. All 347 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 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA estimates (area 28700).

*
Wage 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 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA 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 Virginia; its figures are the whole MSA, as BLS publishes them, under the primary state Tennessee.