Salaries in Tennessee.
2 metro areas. 3445 roles.
Average cost-of-living index: 0.95x national average. Last updated April 2026.
2 cities tracked3445 roles
Highest Paying
$364,000
Technical Fellow
Median Role
$307,000
Principal Computer Vision Engineer
Entry Level
$298,000
Chief AI Officer
Salary data sourced from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), state pay-transparency job postings, and community submissions. Ranges reflect 25th to 75th percentile for full-time positions. Cost-of-living adjustments use Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2025 index). Last updated June 2026.
Tennessee has 2 major metro areas tracked in our salary database, with an average cost-of-living index of 0.95x the national average. The highest-paying role across the state is Technical Fellow at $364,000 in Nashville. The median role pays $307,000.
Top 30 salaries in Tennessee
| # | Role | Median | Top City | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Technical Fellow | $364,000 | Nashville | $284,000 to $473,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $347,000 | Nashville | $270,000 to $450,000 |
| 3 | Senior VP of Product | $346,000 | Nashville | $270,000 to $450,000 |
| 4 | Distinguished Engineer | $343,000 | Nashville | $260,000 to $437,000 |
| 5 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $336,000 | Nashville | $262,000 to $437,000 |
| 6 | Chief Security Officer | $333,000 | Nashville | $260,000 to $433,000 |
| 7 | Senior VP of Security | $326,000 | Nashville | $255,000 to $424,000 |
| 8 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $321,000 | Nashville | $250,000 to $417,000 |
| 9 | Senior VP of Design | $319,000 | Nashville | $250,000 to $415,000 |
| 10 | SVP of Technology | $318,000 | Nashville | $248,000 to $414,000 |
| 11 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $315,000 | Nashville | $246,000 to $410,000 |
| 12 | Principal Cryptographer | $315,000 | Nashville | $246,000 to $410,000 |
| 13 | SVP of Engineering | $313,000 | Nashville | $244,000 to $407,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $311,000 | Nashville | $243,000 to $404,000 |
| 15 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $309,000 | Nashville | $241,000 to $401,000 |
| 16 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $307,000 | Nashville | $239,000 to $399,000 |
| 17 | Principal LLM Engineer | $307,000 | Nashville | $239,000 to $399,000 |
| 18 | Chief Science Officer | $307,000 | Nashville | $240,000 to $399,000 |
| 19 | SVP of Product | $307,000 | Nashville | $240,000 to $399,000 |
| 20 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $306,000 | Nashville | $239,000 to $398,000 |
| 21 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $306,000 | Nashville | $239,000 to $398,000 |
| 22 | CTO | $306,000 | Nashville | $239,000 to $398,000 |
| 23 | Senior Head of Product | $306,000 | Nashville | $239,000 to $398,000 |
| 24 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $306,000 | Nashville | $239,000 to $398,000 |
| 25 | Chief Architect | $306,000 | Nashville | $239,000 to $398,000 |
| 26 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $304,000 | Nashville | $237,000 to $395,000 |
| 27 | SVP of Finance | $302,000 | Nashville | $235,000 to $392,000 |
| 28 | SVP of Strategy | $300,000 | Nashville | $234,000 to $390,000 |
| 29 | Chief Risk Officer | $299,000 | Nashville | $233,000 to $388,000 |
| 30 | Chief AI Officer | $298,000 | Nashville | $221,000 to $384,000 |
Tax considerations in Tennessee
Tennessee has no state income tax on wages or salaries. This gives Nashville workers a meaningful take home advantage over peers in states with 5 to 10% income tax rates.
Tennessee has no state income tax on wages. Knoxville has no city income tax. This zero income tax environment combined with very affordable housing creates excellent purchasing power.
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