Average Salaries in Chattanooga, TN-GA
Explore salaries across 462 occupations in Chattanooga, TN-GA. The average median wage across all tracked occupations is $57.4K, -6.8% vs the national average. See the highest-paying roles, where the jobs are, and how local wages compare to the rest of the country.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates. Coverage: 462 occupations and 261,220 total jobs in Chattanooga, TN-GA.
How the metro compares
Chattanooga, TN-GA pays modestly below the national average. That can be partly offset by a lower cost of living compared with higher-paying markets.
Chattanooga, TN-GA is a smaller metro labor market. Some occupations may have limited local demand.
The highest-paid occupation tracked here is Nurse Anesthetists. Drill into any occupation below to see its local pay distribution, employment, and how it compares to the national market.
Top-paying and largest occupations in Chattanooga, TN-GA
Two different lenses on the local labor market: which occupations pay the most, and which employ the most workers. The highest-paid list tends to favor specialized professional and technical roles. The largest list reflects where the everyday jobs actually are.
Top wages
Highest-paid occupations in Chattanooga, TN-GA
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $197.4K | 270 |
| Chief Executives | $172.8K | 400 |
| Commercial Pilots | $153.6K | 40 |
| Architectural And Engineering Managers | $152.8K | 400 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $148.5K | 40 |
| Dentists, General | $147.6K | 160 |
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $145.7K | 700 |
| Nuclear Engineers | $138.1K | 110 |
| Administrative Services Managers | $131.2K | 680 |
| Financial Managers | $130.5K | 1,220 |
Most jobs
Largest occupations in Chattanooga, TN-GA
| Occupation | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand | 8,030 | $37.2K |
| Miscellaneous Assemblers And Fabricators | 7,440 | $38.4K |
| Fast Food And Counter Workers | 7,330 | $27.2K |
| Retail Salespersons | 6,910 | $29.8K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 6,150 | $42.8K |
| Registered Nurses | 5,940 | $76.9K |
| General And Operations Managers | 5,650 | $103.2K |
| Cashiers | 5,560 | $27.8K |
| Heavy And Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 5,550 | $53.7K |
| Waiters And Waitresses | 4,920 | $26.2K |
What Chattanooga, TN-GA specializes in
The location quotient measures how concentrated an occupation is here compared to the national average. A value above 1.00 means the occupation is more common in Chattanooga, TN-GA than in the country as a whole, which signals what this metro is known for.
Location quotient
Most concentrated occupations in Chattanooga, TN-GA
| Occupation | Location quotient | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Extruding And Forming Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Synthetic And Glass Fibers | 11.68 | $50.0K |
| Textile Winding, Twisting, And Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders | 10.41 | $38.9K |
| Textile Knitting And Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders | 9.89 | $41.1K |
| Food Processing Workers, All Other | 6.30 | $50.1K |
| Automotive Body And Related Repairers | 6.04 | $50.1K |
| Entertainment Attendants And Related Workers, All Other | 5.58 | $27.8K |
| Textile, Apparel, And Furnishings Workers, All Other | 5.06 | $46.7K |
| Healthcare Practitioners And Technical Workers, All Other | 4.55 | $49.6K |
| Correspondence Clerks | 4.55 | $49.8K |
| Painting, Coating, And Decorating Workers | 4.40 | $37.4K |
Peer markets
Comparable metros
| Metro | Average median | Highest-paid occupation |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $90.4K | Training And Development Managers |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $89.2K | Natural Sciences Managers |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $81.4K | Nurse Anesthetists |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $80.1K | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $78.4K | Nurse Anesthetists |
| Vallejo, CA | $77.4K | Lawyers |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $77.2K | Podiatrists |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $77.1K | Neurologists |
Common salary questions for Chattanooga, TN-GA
What does "average median" mean? +
It is the average of all occupation-level medians in this area. It gives a rough sense of the overall wage level here compared to other states or metros, but it is not the same as a household income figure or a single blended salary.
What is a location quotient? +
A location quotient (LQ) compares how concentrated an occupation is in this area versus the national average. An LQ of 2.0 means the occupation is twice as concentrated here as it is nationally. High-LQ occupations are what this area specializes in.
How are comparable areas selected? +
Peer areas are other metros with a similar overall wage level and employment size. They give you a quick sense of how this area ranks among places with a comparable labor market.