Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Across all occupations in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metropolitan area, the median wage is $46,890 a year ($22.54 an hour) and the mean $60,240, May 2025. That median is −8% against the US median of $50,980 and −1% against Tennessee's $47,380. BLS counts 611,670 jobs in the area, which spans Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. The highest-paying occupation is neurologists; the largest is laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand.

All occupations: Memphis, TN-MS-AR vs Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmployment
10th25thMedian75th90th
Memphis, TN-MS-ARHourly$13.89$17.32$22.54$33.84$48.38$28.96611,670
Annual$28,880$36,020$46,890$70,400$100,640$60,240
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
MississippiHourly$11.05$14.31$19.29$28.93$40.62$24.431,163,030
Annual$22,970$29,760$40,120$60,180$84,500$50,810
ArkansasHourly$12.99$15.33$20.98$29.74$45.55$26.391,303,630
Annual$27,020$31,880$43,630$61,850$94,740$54,890
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$50k$100k$150k10th10th: $28,880$28,88025th25th: $36,020$36,020MedianMedian: $46,890$46,89075th75th: $70,400$70,40090th90th: $100,640$100,640US 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.

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

20 highest-paying occupations in Memphis, TN-MS-AR

RankOccupationMedian annualMedian hourlyEmployment
1Neurologists$535,950$257.6730
2Physicians, All Other$388,960$187.00950
3Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric$325,520$156.5060
4General Internal Medicine Physicians$298,620$143.57340
5Family Medicine Physicians$256,240$123.19360
6Nurse Anesthetists$243,240$116.94200
7Dentists, General$238,040$114.44280
8Chief Executives$196,680$94.56680
9Architectural and Engineering Managers$179,670$86.38**
10Pediatricians, General$168,200$80.87120
11Computer and Information Systems Managers in Tennessee$161,790$77.781,710
12Purchasing Managers$156,830$75.40240
13Natural Sciences Managers$155,420$74.72210
14Financial Managers in Tennessee$143,880$69.172,750
15Public Relations Managers$141,340$67.95120
16Physicists$139,810$67.22**
17Human Resources Managers$138,560$66.61760
18Psychologists, All Other$138,300$66.4940
19Lawyers in Tennessee$134,440$64.631,670
20Pharmacists$134,220$64.531,460

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 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

RankOccupationEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotientMedian annual
1Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Tennessee37,75061.723.25$39,510
2Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Tennessee19,46031.812.40$63,070
3Retail Salespersons in Tennessee17,05027.871.11$32,580
4Fast Food and Counter Workers in Tennessee15,32025.051.01$27,490
5Registered Nurses in Tennessee13,76022.501.04$81,500
6Stockers and Order Fillers in Tennessee12,20019.941.09$37,280
7Cashiers in Tennessee10,84017.730.89$29,160
8General and Operations Managers in Tennessee9,73015.910.71$102,510
9Customer Service Representatives in Tennessee9,36015.300.92$44,090
10Office Clerks, General in Tennessee9,06014.810.93$38,610
11First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Tennessee8,71014.241.54$71,310
12Security Guards in Tennessee8,45013.811.67$35,100
13Light Truck Drivers in Tennessee8,19013.392.12$48,350
14Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Tennessee8,07013.200.93$32,580
15Waiters and Waitresses in Tennessee8,06013.180.90$24,550
16Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Tennessee7,95012.992.61$44,540
17Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks in Tennessee7,37012.042.29$45,800
18Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Tennessee7,28011.900.43$30,900
19Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Tennessee7,18011.751.90$39,940
20Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Tennessee6,32010.331.17$48,400

Most concentrated occupations in Memphis, TN-MS-AR

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
1Transportation Workers, All Other8.174400.71$56,870
2Entertainment Attendants and Related Workers, All Other6.331800.29$32,710
3Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents6.171,3702.25$49,440
4Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers4.772400.39$42,050
5Cargo and Freight Agents4.341,6702.73$55,930
6Conveyor Operators and Tenders4.213800.62$38,100
7Couriers and Messengers4.071,1001.80$44,040
8Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians3.942,1403.50$92,180
9Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders3.939301.52$50,470
10Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs3.672,2303.65$49,940

Occupation groups in Memphis, TN-MS-AR

GroupMedian annualMean annualEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Management$116,680$136,32034,98057.200.80
Architecture and Engineering$89,420$95,1306,0509.890.59
Computer and Mathematical$89,420$96,65011,71019.150.57
Life, Physical, and Social Science$84,390$86,8604,5007.360.78
Legal$81,230$115,6703,1205.110.61
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical$80,280$98,06038,16062.390.99
Business and Financial Operations$76,250$85,26033,05054.030.80
Educational Instruction and Library$58,750$59,74029,74048.620.83
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair$58,300$63,20025,72042.051.07
Community and Social Service$52,320$56,4408,78014.350.84
Construction and Extraction$50,510$56,61019,07031.180.75
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media$46,620$55,6006,0109.820.75
Office and Administrative Support$45,940$49,51083,140135.921.19
Protective Service$44,610$51,27019,73032.261.33
Transportation and Material Moving$44,540$49,520104,600171.011.94
Production$44,290$48,10032,55053.210.97
Healthcare Support$37,070$38,44020,30033.200.65
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry$36,090$39,2306801.110.40
Sales and Related$35,940$47,94050,52082.600.96
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance$34,760$36,26017,35028.370.97
Personal Care and Service$30,940$35,48011,66019.070.91
Food Preparation and Serving Related$29,080$31,83050,22082.110.93

Every occupation in Tennessee and Mississippi and Arkansas, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profiles. All 564 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 Memphis, TN-MS-AR estimates (area 32820).

**
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 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 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, Mississippi and Arkansas; its figures are the whole MSA, as BLS publishes them, under the primary state Tennessee.