Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education Salary in Tennessee

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Tennessee have a median of $59,980 a year, below the national $63,970 (−6%); the state ranks 38th of 51 states by median. Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education earn 27% more than the median across all occupations in Tennessee ($47,380). Among neighbouring states, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama and Kentucky pay more (up to $72,290 in Georgia) and North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi pay less (down to $49,790 in Mississippi). Tennessee employs 28,240 elementary school teachers, except special education, 8.61 per 1,000 jobs, the 17th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 0.96 is close to the national share.

Tennessee vs the United States, May 2025

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Tennessee and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
10th25thMedian75th90th
TennesseeHourly******28,2408.610.96
Annual$48,100$50,360$59,980$64,590$76,840$59,850
United StatesHourly******1,388,390––
Annual$47,960$57,710$63,970$81,450$104,340$72,650
$0$20k$40k$60k$80k10th10th: $48,100$48,10025th25th: $50,360$50,360MedianMedian: $59,980$59,98075th75th: $64,590$64,59090th90th: $76,840$76,840US median
Tennessee annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.
Rank by median
38th of 51 states
Rank by employment
17th of 51 states
Location quotient
0.96
Jobs per 1,000
8.61

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Tennessee's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Tennessee

9 metropolitan areas and 4 nonmetropolitan areas touching Tennessee publish a row for elementary school teachers, except special education, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

AreaMedian hourlyMedian annual10th pct (annual)90th pct (annual)EmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Knoxville, TN*$61,980$49,880$72,9403,3607.920.89
Memphis, TN-MS-AR*$61,510$48,160$76,6305,4108.840.99
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN*$61,460$48,220$79,9208,4007.640.86
Johnson City, TN*$61,330$48,770$76,8405707.030.79
Chattanooga, TN-GA*$59,830$47,460$77,0802,0207.530.84
Clarksville, TN-KY*$59,760$39,970$76,7801,56015.141.70
Cleveland, TN*$59,330$49,780$74,7304109.421.06
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA*$58,130$48,830$72,0601,1109.281.04
Jackson, TN*$51,470$42,850$63,53089010.511.18
South Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area*$60,000$48,310$71,6801,61014.651.64
East Tennessee nonmetropolitan area*$58,760$47,690$77,3601,74012.341.38
West Tennessee nonmetropolitan area*$57,610$48,350$61,4901,60013.671.53
North Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area*$52,400$48,810$64,1901,62014.121.58

Neighbouring states

StateMedian hourlyMedian annualEmploymentLocation quotient
Tennessee*$59,98028,2400.96
Alabama*$61,38022,0301.17
Arkansas*$52,70012,5901.08
Georgia*$72,29043,8201.00
Kentucky*$60,61019,0801.07
Missouri*$50,91033,1801.27
Mississippi*$49,79011,0601.07
North Carolina*$54,93042,4100.96
Virginia*$65,55037,8801.03

See the national page for Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education (every state ranked) and the Tennessee wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Tennessee estimates.

*
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.