Web Developer · Tennessee · SOC 15-1254
2026 Web Developer Pay in Tennessee: BLS Median + Real Take-Home
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-05.
TL;DR
- Median Web Developer salary in Tennessee: $74,950 nominal, $81,384 real (BEA RPP basis).
- P25-P75 spread runs $57,140 to $101,190; P10 floor $47,100, P90 ceiling $124,800.
- After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $6,434 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
- Web Developer ranking: #33 on the BLS table, #29 once cost of living is in.
Wage breakdown — Tennessee
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $47,100 | $51,143 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $57,140 | $62,045 |
| P50 (median) | $74,950 | $81,384 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $101,190 | $109,877 |
| P90 (top tier) | $124,800 | $135,514 |
| Mean | $82,020 | $89,061 |
| Employment | 1,390 Web Developers 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 (Web Developer) | $74,950 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$7,736 | 10.3% 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| State income tax | $0 | no state income tax (Hall tax repealed 2021) |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%) | −$5,734 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $61,480 | 82.0% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $66,758 | ÷ (92.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Tennessee state-tax burden means for Web Developer take-home
Tennessee levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $3,748 a year for a Web Developer at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $66,758 — 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 $90,930 for Web Developers with mean pay of $98,790 and total employment of 78,860. Tennessee sits at #33 on nominal pay and #29 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Tennessee climbs 4 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Web Developer make in Tennessee?
- BLS reports a median annual wage of $74,950 for Web Developers in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $57,140 and the 75th-percentile is $101,190.
- How are Tennessee Web Developer 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.
- How many Web Developers does Tennessee employ?
- BLS OES counts 1,390 Web Developers 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.
- What are the limits of these Web Developer salary numbers?
- BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
- Front-end vs back-end vs full-stack web developer pay in Tennessee?
- BLS does not segment by stack within 15-1254. In Tennessee, dedicated back-end web developers (Node/Python/PHP/.NET) typically earn at or above the BLS P75; full-stack developers cluster mid-range; pure front-end / UI-build / WordPress-theme work concentrates near the BLS median or below. The Tennessee agency markets in tech-heavy metros pay a premium for React + TypeScript depth and modern build tooling; CMS-only stacks (WordPress/Drupal/Wix) pay below the BLS figure shown on this page.
- Agency / contract vs in-house vs freelance web developer in Tennessee?
- Agency-employed web developers in Tennessee typically anchor near the BLS median with limited bonus exposure. In-house developers at non-tech companies (e-commerce, media, government) sit at or above median with stable benefits. Freelance / contract web developers can earn substantially above the BLS figure on a gross-hourly basis, but net of self-employment tax (~15.3%), self-paid health insurance, lack of paid leave, and revenue-gap risk, the realized take-home premium is closer to 10-20% than the headline gross might suggest. Specialty contract work (e-commerce platform migrations, headless CMS, accessibility remediation) commands the largest premium in Tennessee.
Sources & methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-1254, 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.
Cross-comparison: see how Tennessee Web Developer 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.