Knoxville, TN metro area

Highest-Paying Occupations in Knoxville Metro

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Knoxville, TN metro area

Figures describe the Knoxville, TN metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Knoxville city limits. Occupations are ranked by published median annual wage; occupations where BLS suppressed the annual median or publishes only hourly wages are not ranked (10 such occupations here).

Top 25 of 536 occupations

Occupations with the highest published median annual wages in the Knoxville, TN metro area, May 2025
#	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$460,080	$221.19	590
2	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$365,260	$175.61	30
3	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$314,020	$150.97	100
4	Physicians, All Other	$276,370	$132.87	690
5	Nurse Anesthetists	$213,900	$102.84	220
6	Chief Executives	$198,890	$95.62	510
7	Nuclear Engineers	$179,660	$86.38	240
8	Physicists	$165,010	$79.33	120
9	Pediatricians, General	$164,720	$79.19	Not published
10	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$162,950	$78.34	610
11	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary	$162,850	Not published	30
12	Dentists, General	$157,900	$75.92	220
13	Biochemists and Biophysicists	$149,140	$71.70	30
14	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$148,580	$71.43	40
15	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$143,650	$69.06	1,380
16	Natural Sciences Managers	$141,130	$67.85	170
17	Public Relations Managers	$140,660	$67.63	90
18	Purchasing Managers	$139,530	$67.08	210
19	Physical Scientists, All Other	$136,990	$65.86	60
20	Financial Managers	$133,570	$64.21	2,090
21	Pharmacists	$132,460	$63.68	990
22	Human Resources Managers	$132,200	$63.56	530
23	Marketing Managers	$131,040	$63.00	930
24	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$129,840	$62.42	50
25	Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary	$129,240	Not published	370

The full list of every published occupation here is on the Knoxville metro area overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.