Registered Nurses · SOC 29-1141
Registered Nurse Salary in the Tennessee
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Tennessee
Figures describe the state of Tennessee as a whole.
Registered Nurses in the Tennessee earned a median of $81,500 per year ($39.18 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $63,970 at the 10th percentile to $104,920 at the 90th. BLS estimates 72,200 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Registered Nurses in the Tennessee earn more than $81,500 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $75,460 and $95,250.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $63,970 | $75,460 | $81,500 | $95,250 | $104,920 |
| Hourly | $30.76 | $36.28 | $39.18 | $45.79 | $50.44 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Tennessee$81,500 median for Tennessee; middle half earns $75,460 to $95,250
- United Statesnational$97,550 median for United States; middle half earns $80,330 to $112,350
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −16% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in Tennessee
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for registered nurses, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Tennesseethis page$81,500 median for Tennessee; middle half earns $75,460 to $95,250
- $84,040 median for Nashville-Davidson metro area; middle half earns $81,630 to $103,550
- $81,500 median for Memphis metro area; middle half earns $78,900 to $95,780
- $79,770 median for Chattanooga metro area; middle half earns $77,690 to $93,710
- $79,450 median for Clarksville metro area; middle half earns $69,980 to $94,880
- $77,660 median for Johnson City metro area; middle half earns $72,080 to $97,090
- $77,240 median for Knoxville metro area; middle half earns $71,550 to $83,000
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for registered nurses · Highest-paying occupations in Tennessee
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
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.