How much does a Data Scientist make in Tennessee?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $104,700 for Data Scientists in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $82,060 and the 75th-percentile is $137,880.

How many Data Scientists does Tennessee employ?

BLS OES counts 2,550 Data Scientists 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.

Where does Tennessee rank for Data Scientist 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.

Is Tennessee a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 92.1 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $104,700 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $113,688. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Data Scientists comparing offers across regions.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Tennessee?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Tennessee.

Data scientist vs data analyst pay in Tennessee — what's the gap?

BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In Tennessee, the data scientist median typically runs 30-60% above the data analyst median, reflecting heavier ML/statistics requirements, deeper SQL/Python depth expectations, and stronger industry placement in tech and finance.

Does a PhD increase data scientist salary in Tennessee?

BLS does not segment by degree. Industry surveys (Burtch Works, Glassdoor) show a PhD premium of roughly 10-25% versus a master's-only data scientist in Tennessee, concentrated in research-heavy industries (pharma, quant finance, AI labs) and largely absent in product analytics roles.

How Much Do Data Scientists Make in Tennessee? $105K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

$104,700 is the BLS median wage for Data Scientists in Tennessee; $113,688 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Low BEA RPP (92.1) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $8,988.
Bottom quartile $82,060, top quartile $137,880. The P90 ($190,000) is roughly 3.1× the P10 ($61,960).
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #19 of 51; nominal rank is #26.

Wage breakdown — Tennessee

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$61,960	$67,279
P25 (lower quartile)	$82,060	$89,105
P50 (median)	$104,700	$113,688
P75 (upper quartile)	$137,880	$149,717
P90 (top tier)	$190,000	$206,311
Mean	$114,830	$124,688
Employment	2,550 Data Scientists 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 (Data Scientist)	$104,700	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$14,281	13.6% 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%)	−$8,010	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$82,409	78.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$89,484	÷ (92.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Tennessee state-tax burden means for Data Scientist take-home

Tennessee levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $5,235 a year for a Data Scientist at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $89,484 — 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 $112,590 for Data Scientists with mean pay of $124,590 and total employment of 233,440. Tennessee sits at #26 on nominal pay and #19 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Tennessee climbs 7 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Data Scientist make in Tennessee?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $104,700 for Data Scientists in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $82,060 and the 75th-percentile is $137,880.
How many Data Scientists does Tennessee employ?: BLS OES counts 2,550 Data Scientists 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.
Where does Tennessee rank for Data Scientist 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.
Is Tennessee a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 92.1 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $104,700 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $113,688. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Data Scientists comparing offers across regions.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Tennessee?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Tennessee.
Data scientist vs data analyst pay in Tennessee — what's the gap?: BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In Tennessee, the data scientist median typically runs 30-60% above the data analyst median, reflecting heavier ML/statistics requirements, deeper SQL/Python depth expectations, and stronger industry placement in tech and finance.
Does a PhD increase data scientist salary in Tennessee?: BLS does not segment by degree. Industry surveys (Burtch Works, Glassdoor) show a PhD premium of roughly 10-25% versus a master's-only data scientist in Tennessee, concentrated in research-heavy industries (pharma, quant finance, AI labs) and largely absent in product analytics roles.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-2051, 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 Data Scientist 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.