State profile · NCES F-33 FY2023
Teacher Salary in Tennessee
Tennessee sits in the lowest third of reporting jurisdictions at $57,941 (#38 of 49). According to the NCES Common Core of Data finance survey, estimated teacher pay and per-pupil spending are available for every public school district in Tennessee.
- $57,941
- Est. state avg salary
- -17.5%
- vs national
- #38
- National rank
- 141
- Districts
Well below benchmark
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Tennessee sits in the lowest third of reporting jurisdictions at $57,941 (#38 of 49). Estimated average teacher salary is $57,941, materially below the national average of $70,245, ranking #38 of 49, across 139 public school districts with reliable data (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- Lower-third estimated pay: Tennessee sits in the lowest third of reporting jurisdictions at $57,941 (#38 of 49).
- lower third nationally (#38 of 49)
- Tennessee ranks #38 of 49 on the salary estimate and #13 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
- $50,029 spread between its highest- and lowest-paying districts
- -17.5% vs the national average
- +12.8% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (balanced cohort, not the FTE average above)
- #38 of 49 purchasing-power-adjusted (BEA RPP 92.1)
Tennessee sits in the lower third for estimated pay
Across 139 reliable-salary districts, the average estimate is $57,941: #38 of 49 jurisdictions with a reliable district estimate, and 17.5% below the national benchmark of $70,245.
The rank compares the same F-33-derived district measure nationwide. It does not include benefits, experience steps, taxes, or local living costs; use it as a relative state placement rather than an exact paycheck.
Tennessee purchasing-power check on lower-third pay
Tennessee's nominal average teacher salary ranks #38 of the 49 states and territories that report teacher salaries. Adjusted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's 2023 Regional Price Parity (92.1, US = 100, a relative state-level price-level index, not a district or metro cost-of-living figure), the estimate becomes $65,968, ranking #38 of 49 , unchanged from the nominal rank. This purchasing-power view is not published by NEA's teacher-pay rankings or the aggregator sites; it comes from combining our own F-33-derived salary estimate with BEA's public RPP series. See the full 51-state release for methodology and download. BEA Regional Price Parities · NCES CCD F-33
Tennessee in the teacher-salary distribution
FY2023 estimated state averages from the same NCES-derived ranking
$57,941 22nd percentile higher than 22% of 49 reporting states and territories
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $5K-wide band; taller bars hold more reporting states and territories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey; state estimates derived from reported instructional-salary expenditure and teacher FTE · FY2023
Tennessee's comparable salary trend
Same reporting-district cohort, FY2019-FY2023
- FY2023 estimated average
- $59,209 12.786857638407707% vs FY2019
- 140 districts held in the panel
Read the chart as text
| Period | Tennessee est. avg teacher salary |
|---|---|
| FY2019 | $52,496 |
| FY2020 | $53,517 |
| FY2021 | $56,429 |
| FY2022 | $57,728 |
| FY2023 | $59,209 |
Highest-paying districts in Tennessee
Estimated average teacher salary, enrolling districts (200+ students)
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$82,057 Est. avg salary
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$74,663 Est. avg salary
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$74,294 Est. avg salary
-
$73,592 Est. avg salary
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$73,086 Est. avg salary
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$72,580 Est. avg salary
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$71,490 Est. avg salary
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$69,520 Est. avg salary
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$68,807 Est. avg salary
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$68,433 Est. avg salary
What this shows Achievement School District leads Tennessee on the F-33 instructional-salary estimate. Service entities (CTCs, county offices) are excluded, their enrollment-based ratios are not reliable salary figures.
Top 3 districts
Districts by Estimated Teacher Salary
| District | Est. Avg Salary | Enrollment | Per-Pupil Exp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott County | $54,178 | 2,524 | $13,661 |
| Macon County | $54,039 | 4,231 | $11,403 |
| Huntingdon Special School District | $53,784 | 1,335 | $13,479 |
| Jackson County | $53,691 | 1,463 | $13,801 |
| Cumberland County | $53,622 | 7,216 | $12,097 |
| Sullivan County | $53,414 | 8,380 | $13,973 |
| Coffee County | $53,412 | 4,395 | $13,119 |
| McKenzie | $53,330 | 1,288 | $12,790 |
| Haywood County | $53,095 | 2,721 | $13,769 |
| Carter County | $53,088 | 4,764 | $12,371 |
| Trenton | $53,074 | 1,354 | $12,910 |
| Humphreys County | $52,974 | 2,693 | $16,846 |
| Hickman County | $52,686 | 3,175 | $12,921 |
| Trousdale County | $52,605 | 1,407 | $11,814 |
| Decatur County | $52,442 | 1,524 | $12,407 |
| South Carroll | $52,435 | 325 | $13,932 |
| Alamo | $52,104 | 578 | $13,019 |
| Warren County | $51,973 | 6,477 | $13,040 |
| Grainger County | $51,892 | 3,105 | $12,463 |
| Dickson County | $51,753 | 8,129 | $11,552 |
| Lake County | $51,508 | 749 | $20,154 |
| Hollow Rock - Bruceton | $51,392 | 658 | $11,555 |
| West Carroll Sp Dist | $51,338 | 837 | $12,692 |
| Unicoi County | $51,280 | 2,220 | $12,125 |
| Bedford County | $51,159 | 9,047 | $12,505 |
| Smith County | $50,830 | 3,061 | $11,354 |
| Weakley County | $50,666 | 3,987 | $13,114 |
| Marion County | $50,645 | 3,960 | $12,396 |
| Overton County | $50,268 | 3,102 | $11,101 |
| Hardin County | $49,539 | 3,370 | $13,388 |
| Hancock County | $49,197 | 954 | $15,019 |
| Crockett County | $48,853 | 2,004 | $13,550 |
| Lexington | $48,852 | 884 | $12,755 |
| Benton County | $48,076 | 2,163 | $13,126 |
| Grundy County | $47,485 | 1,789 | $11,907 |
| Giles County | $47,461 | 3,670 | $12,228 |
| Milan | $44,962 | 1,996 | $12,395 |
| Campbell County | $43,477 | 5,294 | $11,971 |
| Union County | $32,029 | 5,939 | $9,393 |
Showing 101–139 of 139 enrolling districts. Specialized non-enrolling agencies (career/technical centers, county offices, service co-ops) are excluded from the salary ranking, their enrollment-based estimates are not reliable.
Lowest-Paying Districts in Tennessee
| District | Est. Avg Salary | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Union County | $32,029 | 5,939 |
| Campbell County | $43,477 | 5,294 |
| Milan | $44,962 | 1,996 |
| Giles County | $47,461 | 3,670 |
| Grundy County | $47,485 | 1,789 |
| Benton County | $48,076 | 2,163 |
| Lexington | $48,852 | 884 |
| Crockett County | $48,853 | 2,004 |
| Hancock County | $49,197 | 954 |
| Hardin County | $49,539 | 3,370 |
Among enrolling districts (200+ students) with a reliable estimate; service entities excluded, see methodology.
Nationwide peers near Tennessee's large K-12 scale
Two nationwide peer sets for Tennessee: closest on estimated average teacher salary ($57,941 here) and closest on total student enrollment (1,000,982 here). Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not geographic containment.
Similar estimated salary
Nearest other states by unweighted district-mean teacher pay (F-33 derived, ≥5 districts with reliable estimates).
Similar enrollment
Nearest other states by NCES-reported K-12 enrollment. Salary peers above are excluded.
Compare Nearby-Ranked States
Data: NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey + Staff Universe Survey, FY2023. Salary figures divide instructional expenditure (variable Z33) by each district's reported teacher FTE, or an estimated FTE for the small minority with no reported figure. Not individual salary data. Read our methodology.
Tennessee teacher salary FAQ
What is the average teacher salary in Tennessee?
Across 139 Tennessee public school districts with reliable data, the average teacher salary is $57,941 (NCES CCD F-33 reported teacher salaries divided by CCD Staff Universe Survey teacher headcounts, FY2023). It is a district-level mean derived from finance filings, so it will not match a contract-salary survey exactly, read it as a relative comparison.
Which Tennessee school district pays teachers the most?
Achievement School District reports the highest average teacher salary in Tennessee at $82,057, while Union County sits at the lower end at $32,029.
How does Tennessee teacher pay compare to the national average?
Tennessee's average of $57,941 is materially below the national average of $70,245 (-17.5%), ranking #38 of the 49 jurisdictions with a reliable district estimate.
How many school districts are in Tennessee?
Tennessee has 141 public school districts in the NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, together serving 1,000,982 students.
How much do teachers make in Tennessee?
District-average teacher pay in Tennessee sits in a comparatively narrow band, from $32,029 in Union County to $82,057 in Achievement School District. With that little district-to-district spread the statewide figure is a reasonable guide to what most districts pay. These are district-wide averages from NCES CCD F-33 (FY2023), not individual salaries or pay-scale steps.
Can teachers earn $100,000 in Tennessee?
No Tennessee district with reliable data reports an estimated average teacher salary at or above $100,000; the state's highest is Achievement School District at $82,057. This is a district-wide average, not an individual salary, step, or years-of-experience figure.
How does Tennessee rank after adjusting for cost of living?
Within the separate enrollment-weighted state comparison, BEA's 2023 Regional Price Parity (92.1, US=100) adjusts Tennessee's nominal estimate of $60,752 from #37 to $65,968 and #38. The headline uses an unweighted district mean, so this does not replace it. Neither measure is take-home pay, taxes, or district/metro cost of living.
Explore Tennessee
Disclaimer & data sources
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainTeacher for Tennessee
| Publisher | PlainTeacher |
| Sources | Public official public datasets |