Dentist Salary 2026 in Tennessee
BLS estimates the median dentist wage in Tennessee at $215,290 a year, about $103.50 an hour over a full-time year. BLS estimates 2,200 jobs in the state. The state median estimate is 25.9% above the national median of $170,950.
Estimated take home in Tennessee, a year
$160,181
On the state median of $215,290, after federal tax, Social Security, Medicare. A single filer with a blank Form W-4: $6,160.80 a fortnight, an effective rate of 25.6%.
The spread in Tennessee
BLS publishes selected percentile estimates for the state, not only the median. The take home column applies the current Tennessee model to published numeric estimates; lower-bound rows stay uncalculated.
| Percentile | A year | An hour | Estimated take home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest tenth | $84,360 | $40.56 | $68,181 |
| Lower quarter | $133,710 | $64.28 | $102,652 |
| Median | $215,290 | $103.50 | $160,181 |
| Upper quarter | $269,120 | $129.38 | $195,728 |
| Highest tenth | $311,900 | $149.95 | $222,630 |
Tennessee against the states next door
The wage estimates are BLS’s. Take home is modeled only where BLS publishes a numeric median estimate; # lower bounds remain labelled and uncalculated.
| State | Median | Estimated take home |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | $215,290 | $160,181 |
| Arkansas | $178,930 | $127,139 |
| Georgia | $206,760 | $144,331 |
| Kentucky | $134,160 | $98,386 |
| Mississippi | $143,660 | $104,447 |
| Missouri | $204,960 | $143,898 |
| North Carolina | $207,000 | $146,128 |
| Virginia | $197,110 | $136,246 |
Relative to the state’s all-occupations estimate
BLS estimates the all-occupations median in Tennessee at $47,380. The published dentist median estimate is 4.54times that benchmark; nationally the corresponding ratio is 3.35. This ratio is a wage comparison only and does not adjust for cost of living or individual experience.
Modeled gross pay for selected take home targets in Tennessee
These are illustrative reverse calculations for a single filer using the deductions currently represented for Tennessee. An actual payroll result may differ.
| Target take home | Estimated gross needed | An hour |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $59,520 | $28.62 |
| $60,000 | $72,730 | $34.97 |
| $75,000 | $94,070 | $45.23 |
| $100,000 | $129,820 | $62.41 |
The same rate at different hours
BLS converts the annual estimate using a 2,080-hour year. This table shows illustrative weekly-hour scenarios using the same hourly estimate and theTennessee deductions currently represented by the model.
| Hours a week | Gross a year | Estimated take home | A fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $107,640 | $84,555 | $3,252.11 |
| 24 | $129,168 | $99,552 | $3,828.93 |
| 30 | $161,460 | $121,624 | $4,677.84 |
| 36 | $193,752 | $144,269 | $5,548.82 |
| 40 | $215,280 | $160,181 | $6,160.80 |
| 48 | $258,336 | $188,655 | $7,255.94 |
Put in your own hours
Seeded with the Tennessee median. Change the hours, your Form W-4 answers or the state.
Estimated average take home pay, biweekly
$6,160.80
$215,280.00 a year gross; the model estimates $160,180.72 after the deductions shown. That is 74.4% of gross under these assumptions.
Worked out from: single filer · a blank Form W-4 · 40 hours a week.
- Social Security withholding generally stops after wages from one employer reach $184,500 for the year, so later take home pay may be higher than this annual average.
- Additional Medicare withholding starts in the pay period when wages from one employer exceed $200,000 for the year. No pay date or year-to-date wages were entered, so the biweekly Medicare and take home figures are annual-average estimates that spread the year's Additional Medicare across 26 paychecks; actual earlier take home pay may be higher and later take home pay lower.
About this calculator. It is general guidance, not a payslip. The figures are estimates based on selected 2026 federal and state publications and modeled assumptions. Sources, interpretations and code may be incomplete or wrong, and the result should not be relied on as an exact calculation of tax, payroll or anything else. Your employer knows things this page cannot: a mid-year rate change, a benefit deduction, a garnishment, a local tax, or what it has already withheld this year. Nothing here is tax, legal or financial advice, and using it creates no professional relationship. For anything that turns on the exact number, ask an accountant or a qualified adviser. Methodology and sources.
Pay history and 2026 trend estimate
Each numeric bar is the published Tennessee median estimate for dentist in that year’s release. A BLS # lower bound or a year without an exact result is labelled instead of silently dropped. Bars run from zero. The 2021 method break is marked, and the earlier published bars remain visible as historical context without being joined to the post-change calculations. The separate 2026 figure is an HourlyPaycheck arithmetic extrapolation, not BLS data or a BLS forecast.
- 2012$170,690
- 2013$180,240
- 2014$155,810
- 2015$150,070
- 2016$170,180
- 2017$174,920
- 2018$178,550
- 2019$152,250
- 2020$132,590
- 2021BLS changed its estimation method in May 2021; site calculations start here.
- 2021$130,600
- 2022$168,650
- 2023$150,220
- 2024$154,460
- 2025$215,290
BLS changed the OEWS estimation method beginning with the May 2021 estimates. Pre-2021 bars remain as raw published reference points; the wage, inflation, and employment calculations use post-change endpoints only. BLS also explains that the survey’s pooled design and changes in methods or classifications limit comparisons over time. The chart itself contains no future data point. The separate 2026 card is a rounded trend scenario calculated by this site and is not part of the measured series.
BLS estimated employment at 108,680 in 2021 and 124,390 in 2025, a modeled change of 14.5% between the two published estimates.
Questions people ask
What is the median dentist salary in Tennessee?+
BLS estimates the median at $215,290 a year, about $103.50 an hour over a full-time year. The published mean estimate is $210,700. In the cited data, that median estimate is 25.9% above the national estimate of $170,950.
What is a dentist salary in Tennessee after taxes?+
Using the state median estimate and the page's default filing assumptions, the model estimates $160,181 a year after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare. The corresponding modeled biweekly amount is $6,160.80.
What is the salary range for a dentist in Tennessee?+
The BLS lowest-tenth estimate is $84,360, and the highest-tenth estimate is $311,900. “At least” preserves the Bureau's # lower-bound marker; the figures are wage estimates rather than career stages.
Does a dentist earn more in Tennessee or nearby?+
Against the states it borders, Tennessee's median of $215,290 is higher than every neighboring state with an available numeric median estimate; the nearest is North Carolina at $207,000. The table also shows modeled take home estimates under the same assumptions; it is not a comparison of actual payslips.
Dentist pay in other states
Or see dentist pay nationally and how Tennessee taxes any wage.
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 29-1021. OEWS surveys wages in May and publishes about a year later, so this release appeared in May 2026 and is the most recent. Annual figures convert at 2,080 hours a year, as BLS states them. Tax is worked out here from the 2026 federal and Tennessee tables.