How much does a Financial Analyst make in Tennessee?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $86,580 for Financial Analysts in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $68,820 and the 75th-percentile is $115,140.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Financial Analyst salary in Tennessee?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 92.1 for Tennessee), the real-wage equivalent is $94,013 — what the $86,580 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $74,728 to $125,024.

How are Tennessee Financial Analyst salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

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.

Does BLS financial analyst pay in Tennessee include investment-banking bonuses?

BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income — which includes annual cash bonuses paid through payroll. So sell-side IB analyst-level bonuses, equity-research bonuses, and FP&A annual incentives all show up in the BLS figure. What's NOT included: deferred stock, unvested RSU grants, partnership distributions to senior associates and above, and post-tax-year 'true-up' bonuses paid through 1099. In Tennessee, this means BLS reasonably represents junior analyst total comp but increasingly understates senior comp once equity becomes a meaningful share — gap widens at the P90 band.

Buy-side vs sell-side vs corporate finance analyst pay in Tennessee?

BLS aggregates SOC 13-2051 (Financial and Investment Analysts) without segmenting by sector. In Tennessee, buy-side roles at hedge funds, asset managers, and private equity firms typically lead on total comp at every level — bonus carry / performance fees can dwarf base. Sell-side investment banking analysts in Tennessee earn high cash comp but with steep hours; equity research mid-band; corporate finance / FP&A analysts earn the lowest among financial-analyst-track roles but with the most predictable hours. The Tennessee BLS median primarily reflects the corporate / FP&A end of the band; high-finance-cluster cities show much higher P90s as a result.

Does CFA charterholder status raise financial analyst pay in Tennessee?

CFA Institute survey data and industry comp reports typically show a 10-20% pay premium for CFA charterholders over non-charterholders at comparable seniority — though the causal share (vs. selection effect: higher-track analysts pursue CFA) is debated. In Tennessee, the CFA premium is largest in equity research, portfolio management, and credit analysis roles where the credential is functionally required at the senior level; in IB and corporate finance the premium is smaller and substitutable with MBA. The 4-year, three-exam CFA path costs $3-5K in fees and 900-1,000 study hours, so the realized ROI in Tennessee depends heavily on whether the role values the credential for promotion vs. just hiring.

Tennessee Financial Analyst Salary: BLS $87K Median, Real $94K (2026)

TL;DR

Median Financial Analyst salary in Tennessee: $86,580 nominal, $94,013 real (BEA RPP basis).
Low BEA RPP (92.1) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $7,433.
Bottom quartile $68,820, top quartile $115,140. The P90 ($192,100) is roughly 3.9× the P10 ($49,800).
State ranks #35 nationally on nominal wage, #30 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Tennessee

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$49,800	$54,075
P25 (lower quartile)	$68,820	$74,728
P50 (median)	$86,580	$94,013
P75 (upper quartile)	$115,140	$125,024
P90 (top tier)	$192,100	$208,591
Mean	$105,520	$114,579
Employment	3,990 Financial Analysts 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 (Financial Analyst)	$86,580	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,295	11.9% 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%)	−$6,623	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$69,662	80.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$75,642	÷ (92.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Tennessee state-tax burden means for Financial Analyst take-home

Tennessee levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,329 a year for a Financial Analyst at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $75,642 — 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 $101,350 for Financial Analysts with mean pay of $116,490 and total employment of 340,580. Tennessee sits at #35 on nominal pay and #30 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Tennessee climbs 5 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Financial Analyst make in Tennessee?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $86,580 for Financial Analysts in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $68,820 and the 75th-percentile is $115,140.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Financial Analyst salary in Tennessee?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 92.1 for Tennessee), the real-wage equivalent is $94,013 — what the $86,580 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $74,728 to $125,024.
How are Tennessee Financial Analyst salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
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.
Does BLS financial analyst pay in Tennessee include investment-banking bonuses?: BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income — which includes annual cash bonuses paid through payroll. So sell-side IB analyst-level bonuses, equity-research bonuses, and FP&A annual incentives all show up in the BLS figure. What's NOT included: deferred stock, unvested RSU grants, partnership distributions to senior associates and above, and post-tax-year 'true-up' bonuses paid through 1099. In Tennessee, this means BLS reasonably represents junior analyst total comp but increasingly understates senior comp once equity becomes a meaningful share — gap widens at the P90 band.
Buy-side vs sell-side vs corporate finance analyst pay in Tennessee?: BLS aggregates SOC 13-2051 (Financial and Investment Analysts) without segmenting by sector. In Tennessee, buy-side roles at hedge funds, asset managers, and private equity firms typically lead on total comp at every level — bonus carry / performance fees can dwarf base. Sell-side investment banking analysts in Tennessee earn high cash comp but with steep hours; equity research mid-band; corporate finance / FP&A analysts earn the lowest among financial-analyst-track roles but with the most predictable hours. The Tennessee BLS median primarily reflects the corporate / FP&A end of the band; high-finance-cluster cities show much higher P90s as a result.
Does CFA charterholder status raise financial analyst pay in Tennessee?: CFA Institute survey data and industry comp reports typically show a 10-20% pay premium for CFA charterholders over non-charterholders at comparable seniority — though the causal share (vs. selection effect: higher-track analysts pursue CFA) is debated. In Tennessee, the CFA premium is largest in equity research, portfolio management, and credit analysis roles where the credential is functionally required at the senior level; in IB and corporate finance the premium is smaller and substitutable with MBA. The 4-year, three-exam CFA path costs $3-5K in fees and 900-1,000 study hours, so the realized ROI in Tennessee depends heavily on whether the role values the credential for promotion vs. just hiring.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 13-2051, 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 Financial Analyst 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.