Memphis, TN-MS-AR Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Memphis, TN-MS-AR - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Memphis, TN-MS-AR moved from $45,610 in May 2024 to $46,890 in May 2025 (+2.8%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Memphis, TN-MS-AR sits -0.3 pp near that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power from BLS and BEA sources, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability.
Waiters and Waitresses shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Waiters and Waitresses publishes $24,550 here versus $35,230 nationally (-30.3%; 8,060metro-area jobs). Next is Managers, All Other at $104,050 locally versus $141,900 nationally (-26.7%).
- Waiters and Waitresses$24,550 in Memphis, TN-MS-AR sits 30.3% below the national Waiters and Waitresses median of $35,230 (8,060 published local jobs).
- Managers, All Other$104,050 in Memphis, TN-MS-AR sits 26.7% below the national Managers, All Other median of $141,900 (2,620 published local jobs).
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents$58,500 in Memphis, TN-MS-AR sits 25.6% below the national Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents median of $78,660 (2,210 published local jobs).
- Food Preparation Workers$27,290 in Memphis, TN-MS-AR sits 22.7% below the national Food Preparation Workers median of $35,320 (3,530 published local jobs).
Waiters and Waitresses and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Memphis, TN-MS-AR; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 32820 · Memphis, TN-MS-AR $59K mean
MEAN-MID · RPP-LOW · OCC-MOST · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-MID #210/528
- RPP-LOW 92.2
- OCC-MOST 564 occs
- TOP-LEAD Neurologists · $536K
- EMP-MIX Financial Ma…
- TREND-INLINE -0.3 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Hanford-Corcoran…
- BOOK-FULL 553 rows · May 2025
Read with Hanford-Corcoran, CA ($20 on published-row mean) · Highest-paying careers
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer, not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Employment scale inside Memphis, TN-MS-AR's top-pay list
Financial Managers and Computer and Information Systems Managers lead published employment inside Memphis, TN-MS-AR's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Financial Managers 2,750 jobs · $143,880
- 2. Computer and Information Systems Managers 1,710 jobs · $161,790
- 3. Lawyers 1,670 jobs · $134,440
- 4. Pharmacists 1,460 jobs · $134,220
- 5. Administrative Services Managers 1,430 jobs · $130,580
- 6. Marketing Managers 1,180 jobs · $132,540
- 7. Physicians, All Other 950 jobs · $388,960
- 8. Human Resources Managers 760 jobs · $138,560
- 9. Chief Executives 680 jobs · $196,680
- 10. Family Medicine Physicians 360 jobs · $256,240
- 11. General Internal Medicine Physicians 340 jobs · $298,620
- 12. Dentists, General 280 jobs · $238,040
- 13. Purchasing Managers 240 jobs · $156,830
- 14. Natural Sciences Managers 210 jobs · $155,420
- 15. Nurse Anesthetists 200 jobs · $243,240
- 16. Aerospace Engineers 130 jobs · $129,830
- 17. Pediatricians, General 120 jobs · $168,200
- 18. Public Relations Managers 120 jobs · $141,340
Occupations Tracked
564
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$59,430
employment-weighted, 553 complete rows
Top Salary
$535,950
Neurologists
Cost of Living
92.2
8% below US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Memphis, TN-MS-AR
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neurologists | $535,950 |
| 2 | Physicians, All Other | $388,960 |
| 3 | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $325,520 |
| 4 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $298,620 |
| 5 | Family Medicine Physicians | $256,240 |
| 6 | Nurse Anesthetists | $243,240 |
| 7 | Dentists, General | $238,040 |
| 8 | Chief Executives | $196,680 |
| 9 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $179,670 |
| 10 | Pediatricians, General | $168,200 |
| 11 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $161,790 |
| 12 | Purchasing Managers | $156,830 |
| 13 | Natural Sciences Managers | $155,420 |
| 14 | Financial Managers | $143,880 |
| 15 | Public Relations Managers | $141,340 |
| 16 | Physicists | $139,810 |
| 17 | Human Resources Managers | $138,560 |
| 18 | Psychologists, All Other | $138,300 |
| 19 | Lawyers | $134,440 |
| 20 | Pharmacists | $134,220 |
| 21 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $133,150 |
| 22 | Marketing Managers | $132,540 |
| 23 | Administrative Services Managers | $130,580 |
| 24 | Aerospace Engineers | $129,830 |
| 25 | Optometrists | $129,080 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Memphis, TN-MS-AR
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Waiters and Waitresses | $24,550 |
| Gambling Dealers | $25,180 |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | $26,280 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $27,230 |
| School Bus Monitors | $27,250 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $27,260 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $27,290 |
| Passenger Attendants | $27,380 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $27,430 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $27,490 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in TN
Other metropolitan or nonmetropolitan OEWS areas assigned to the same state. Cross-state pay and employment peers live in Nationwide similar metros below.
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside TN. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($59,430 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Similar employment scale
Nearest headcount peers (floor 100,000 summed published jobs), distinct from the mean-wage column.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average salary in Memphis, TN-MS-AR? ▼
Which published medians lead Memphis, TN-MS-AR? ▼
What is the cost of living in Memphis, TN-MS-AR? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for Memphis, TN-MS-AR come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Memphis, TN-MS-AR wage figures in a real decision
- Neurologists leads published medians in Memphis, TN-MS-AR at $535,950/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Neurologists
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $59,430 adjusts to about $64,472 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 92.2. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for TN before treating one geography as the other. State wage page
BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period; small occupation-area cells can be suppressed, and figures are not employer offers.
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.