How many Accountants does Tennessee employ?

BLS OES counts 26,890 Accountants employed in Tennessee in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for Tennessee different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Tennessee's overall index of 92.1 reflects rents 77.9, services 76.4, and goods 94.3.

Where does Tennessee rank for Accountant pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Tennessee ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Tennessee?

P10 to P90 spans $50,400 to $125,280. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Is Tennessee a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Accountants?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 92.1 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $75,500 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $81,981. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Accountants comparing offers across regions.

Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in Tennessee?

BLS aggregates accountants and auditors under SOC 13-2011 — CPA-licensed and non-CPA pay are not split. In practice, CPA-licensed accountants in Tennessee typically earn 10-20% above the all-accountant median, and the gap widens at the senior/manager level where CPA is functionally required for partner-track public accounting and CFO roles. Tennessee requires 150 semester hours of education to sit for the exam (the AICPA Uniform CPA standard).

Is busy season ($35K of overtime) included in Tennessee accountant BLS figures?

Yes — BLS OES uses annualized W-2 earnings, so January-April busy-season overtime is rolled into the median. The high P90 in public-accounting-heavy Tennessee markets reflects busy-season hours plus year-end bonuses. Industry accountants typically have flatter hours and a lower P90 ceiling but more predictable totals.

How Much Do Accountants Make in Tennessee? $76K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Median Accountant salary in Tennessee: $75,500 nominal, $81,981 real (BEA RPP basis).
Wage envelope: $50,400 (P10) to $125,280 (P90), with quartiles at $61,960 and $92,140.
Low BEA RPP (92.1) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $6,481.
Accountant ranking: #36 on the BLS table, #27 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Tennessee

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$50,400	$54,727
P25 (lower quartile)	$61,960	$67,279
P50 (median)	$75,500	$81,981
P75 (upper quartile)	$92,140	$100,050
P90 (top tier)	$125,280	$136,035
Mean	$82,310	$89,376
Employment	26,890 Accountants in Tennessee

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Tennessee index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	92.1
Goods	94.3
Services	76.4
Rents	77.9

Tennessee sits below the national baseline (RPP 92.1), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 77.9.

After-tax take-home — Tennessee (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Accountant)	$75,500	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$7,857	10.4% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax (Hall tax repealed 2021)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,776	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$61,867	81.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$67,178	÷ (92.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Tennessee state-tax burden means for Accountant take-home

Tennessee levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $3,775 a year for a Accountant at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $67,178 — higher than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP is below 100.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $81,680 for Accountants with mean pay of $93,520 and total employment of 1,448,290. Tennessee sits at #36 on nominal pay and #27 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Tennessee climbs 9 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How many Accountants does Tennessee employ?: BLS OES counts 26,890 Accountants employed in Tennessee in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for Tennessee different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Tennessee's overall index of 92.1 reflects rents 77.9, services 76.4, and goods 94.3.
Where does Tennessee rank for Accountant pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Tennessee ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Tennessee?: P10 to P90 spans $50,400 to $125,280. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Tennessee a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Accountants?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 92.1 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $75,500 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $81,981. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Accountants comparing offers across regions.
Does CPA licensure raise accountant pay in Tennessee?: BLS aggregates accountants and auditors under SOC 13-2011 — CPA-licensed and non-CPA pay are not split. In practice, CPA-licensed accountants in Tennessee typically earn 10-20% above the all-accountant median, and the gap widens at the senior/manager level where CPA is functionally required for partner-track public accounting and CFO roles. Tennessee requires 150 semester hours of education to sit for the exam (the AICPA Uniform CPA standard).
Is busy season ($35K of overtime) included in Tennessee accountant BLS figures?: Yes — BLS OES uses annualized W-2 earnings, so January-April busy-season overtime is rolled into the median. The high P90 in public-accounting-heavy Tennessee markets reflects busy-season hours plus year-end bonuses. Industry accountants typically have flatter hours and a lower P90 ceiling but more predictable totals.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 13-2011, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Tennessee Accountant pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.