How much does a Lawyer make in Tennessee?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $130,570 for Lawyers in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $94,190 and the 75th-percentile is $187,400.

How are Tennessee Lawyer 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.

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 Lawyer 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 Lawyers?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 92.1 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $130,570 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $141,779. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Lawyers 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.

Does the BLS lawyer median include partner profit-share in Tennessee?

No — BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income only. Equity-partner distributions at law firms are reported on K-1 (partnership income), not W-2, and are excluded entirely. In Tennessee BigLaw and major regional firms, this means the BLS-reported median understates total compensation for the partnership tier substantially: P90 partner draw often runs 3-10× the BLS-reported P90 once profits-per-equity-partner are factored in. The BLS figure on this page accurately represents salaried associates, of-counsel, and staff attorneys; it does not represent equity-partner income.

2026 Lawyer Salary — Tennessee ($131K BLS, RPP-Adjusted Real Wage)

TL;DR

Median Lawyer salary in Tennessee: $130,570 nominal, $141,779 real (BEA RPP basis).
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $11,209.
Quartile range $94,190 (bottom 25%) to $187,400 (top 25%). BLS suppresses the P10 or P90 tail for this state, typically because the top tier exceeds the OES wage cap.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #12 of 51; nominal rank is #18.

Wage breakdown — Tennessee

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$66,060	$71,731
P25 (lower quartile)	$94,190	$102,276
P50 (median)	$130,570	$141,779
P75 (upper quartile)	$187,400	$203,488
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$155,290	$168,621
Employment	8,830 Lawyers 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 (Lawyer)	$130,570	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$20,155	15.4% 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%)	−$9,989	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$100,427	76.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$109,048	÷ (92.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Tennessee levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $6,529 a year for a Lawyer at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $109,048 — 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 $151,160 for Lawyers with mean pay of $182,760 and total employment of 747,750. Tennessee sits at #18 on nominal pay and #12 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Tennessee climbs 6 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Lawyer make in Tennessee?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $130,570 for Lawyers in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $94,190 and the 75th-percentile is $187,400.
How are Tennessee Lawyer 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.
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 Lawyer 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 Lawyers?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 92.1 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $130,570 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $141,779. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Lawyers 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.
Does the BLS lawyer median include partner profit-share in Tennessee?: No — BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income only. Equity-partner distributions at law firms are reported on K-1 (partnership income), not W-2, and are excluded entirely. In Tennessee BigLaw and major regional firms, this means the BLS-reported median understates total compensation for the partnership tier substantially: P90 partner draw often runs 3-10× the BLS-reported P90 once profits-per-equity-partner are factored in. The BLS figure on this page accurately represents salaried associates, of-counsel, and staff attorneys; it does not represent equity-partner income.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 23-1011, 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 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Tennessee Lawyer 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.