BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

06/09/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/09/2026 09:11

County Employment and Wages in Tennessee — Fourth Quarter 2025

News Release Information

26-823-ATL
Tuesday, June 09, 2026

Employment declined in 5 of the 6 largest counties in Tennessee from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that Shelby County (-2.2 percent) had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

View Chart Data

Davidson County (555,200) had the highest employment level in Tennessee in December 2025. Together, the six largest counties accounted for 55.3 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Large county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2025

All six large Tennessee counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) Williamson had the largest gain (+7.0 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other five large Tennessee counties ranged from 3.6 percent to 3.1 percent.

View Chart Data

Weekly wages in 2 of the 6 largest counties in Tennessee were above the national average of $1,569: Williamson ($1,889) and Davidson ($1,776). Average weekly wages among the other four large counties ranged from $1,469 in Shelby to $1,305 in Rutherford.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 89 smaller counties in Tennessee, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 87 of the 89 smaller counties were below the national average. Roane reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,795). Hancock reported the lowest average weekly wage ($714) in the state.

Among all 95 Tennessee counties, 9 reported average weekly wages less than $925, 19 had wages from $925 to $1,024, 31 had wages from $1,025 to $1,124, 15 had wages from $1,125 to $1,224, and 21 had average weekly wages of $1,225 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Tennessee, fourth quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,569)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The County Employment and Wages release for the first quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Area Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage
December 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
December
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change 		Fourth quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
fourth quarter
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change

United States

12,428.4 156,700.2 0.2 -- 1,569 -- 4.2 --

Tennessee

225.2 3,281.6 -0.3 -- 1,424 24 3.8 34

Davidson

32.9 555.2 -0.7 275 1,776 38 3.1 280

Hamilton

12.9 220.5 -0.7 275 1,441 153 3.6 239

Knox

16.5 264.5 -0.1 181 1,389 179 3.2 269

Rutherford

8.4 148.7 -1.3 335 1,305 240 3.2 269

Shelby

22.9 471.1 -2.2 358 1,469 135 3.2 269

Williamson

13.8 154.1 2.2 16 1,889 24 7.0 17

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Area Establishments Employment December 2025 Average weekly wage ($)

United States

12,428,415 156,700,218 1,569

Tennessee

225,203 3,281,637 1,424

Anderson

2,004 46,993 1,695

Bedford

1,055 16,761 1,124

Benton

357 4,467 986

Bledsoe

183 2,499 1,072

Blount

3,331 58,331 1,244

Bradley

2,418 40,714 1,162

Campbell

734 9,431 891

Cannon

289 2,212 1,045

Carroll

534 7,700 991

Carter

841 12,807 1,064

Cheatham

934 9,997 1,215

Chester

302 3,859 1,029

Claiborne

592 8,738 1,012

Clay

147 1,339 840

Cocke

564 7,477 980

Coffee

1,565 25,976 1,206

Crockett

304 3,903 1,162

Cumberland

1,498 19,193 972

Davidson

32,855 555,158 1,776

Decatur

299 3,302 1,008

De Kalb

439 5,140 1,032

Dickson

1,358 18,954 1,101

Dyer

851 17,100 1,115

Fayette

792 8,380 1,232

Fentress

371 6,010 827

Franklin

964 11,275 1,073

Gibson

1,080 16,498 1,049

Giles

704 9,377 1,072

Grainger

387 3,979 1,198

Greene

1,507 24,780 1,056

Grundy

236 2,064 785

Hamblen

1,570 33,468 1,069

Hamilton

12,882 220,545 1,441

Hancock

105 1,044 714

Hardeman

363 6,224 1,063

Hardin

608 8,252 1,065

Hawkins

855 13,742 1,187

Haywood

402 5,962 1,330

Henderson

581 8,120 1,030

Henry

791 11,935 1,053

Hickman

392 4,065 1,045

Houston

152 1,630 984

Humphreys

405 5,807 1,328

Jackson

212 1,759 963

Jefferson

1,033 13,910 1,125

Johnson

354 4,255 1,141

Knox

16,540 264,466 1,389

Lake

118 1,393 1,256

Lauderdale

349 6,274 1,042

Lawrence

930 11,303 952

Lewis

284 3,284 1,153

Lincoln

774 9,598 1,041

Loudon

1,446 18,264 1,148

McMinn

1,075 17,119 1,056

McNairy

542 5,576 940

Macon

404 5,255 1,003

Madison

2,819 61,082 1,257

Marion

590 8,380 1,106

Marshall

728 9,882 1,101

Maury

3,061 38,898 1,318

Meigs

160 2,007 1,287

Monroe

912 14,561 1,052

Montgomery

4,646 66,878 1,118

Moore

88 2,476 1,161

Morgan

242 3,165 1,050

Obion

719 11,872 1,045

Overton

445 5,781 967

Perry

163 1,664 959

Pickett

113 806 908

Polk

326 2,490 930

Putnam

2,438 40,009 1,062

Rhea

619 12,335 1,257

Roane

1,026 20,095 1,795

Robertson

1,603 23,469 1,187

Rutherford

8,403 148,704 1,305

Scott

447 5,680 874

Sequatchie

304 3,610 950

Sevier

3,505 53,577 943

Shelby

22,929 471,148 1,469

Smith

411 4,903 1,121

Stewart

256 2,780 1,441

Sullivan

4,025 70,658 1,260

Sumner

5,345 63,801 1,251

Tipton

946 12,324 1,050

Trousdale

190 3,009 1,193

Unicoi

318 4,878 1,183

Union

287 2,668 963

Van Buren

86 857 842

Warren

945 12,348 1,054

Washington

3,676 63,965 1,141

Wayne

282 4,141 951

Weakley

637 10,640 899

White

570 7,129 937

Williamson

13,830 154,121 1,889

Wilson

4,525 66,111 1,227

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

State Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage
December 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
December
2024-25 		Fourth quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
fourth quarter
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change

United States

12,428.4 156,700.2 0.2 1,569 -- 4.2 --

Alabama

167.4 2,135.3 0.5 1,301 36 3.7 37

Alaska

25.3 317.3 -0.3 1,497 16 4.7 14

Arizona

227.4 3,278.3 0.0 1,446 20 3.0 47

Arkansas

113.0 1,318.2 0.4 1,213 49 5.0 8

California

2,013.7 18,351.7 0.6 1,954 4 4.6 16

Colorado

258.5 2,896.4 -0.6 1,683 8 5.6 3

Connecticut

149.8 1,706.5 0.1 1,801 6 5.0 8

Delaware

47.3 481.0 0.1 1,502 15 4.7 14

District of Columbia

51.0 726.1 -4.5 2,587 1 4.1 24

Florida

886.2 10,013.2 0.3 1,471 17 4.8 12

Georgia

398.7 4,925.4 0.1 1,440 21 3.5 40

Hawaii

63.0 650.0 -0.2 1,411 25 5.0 8

Idaho

104.3 875.7 1.8 1,303 35 5.8 2

Illinois

387.7 6,089.5 -0.1 1,588 11 3.3 42

Indiana

195.6 3,211.2 0.1 1,276 40 4.5 17

Iowa

110.6 1,560.0 -0.2 1,282 39 3.7 37

Kansas

101.8 1,443.2 -0.1 1,268 44 4.1 24

Kentucky

161.3 2,008.7 -0.1 1,235 46 3.8 34

Louisiana

159.2 1,927.3 -0.5 1,267 45 3.2 44

Maine

67.6 644.7 -0.1 1,332 33 4.2 21

Maryland

199.5 2,754.6 -1.1 1,616 10 3.0 47

Massachusetts

298.5 3,625.5 -0.9 1,980 2 4.9 11

Michigan

316.9 4,412.7 0.0 1,427 23 4.2 21

Minnesota

215.2 2,948.0 0.0 1,505 14 3.7 37

Mississippi

92.2 1,180.9 0.3 1,075 51 5.1 7

Missouri

259.9 2,920.8 -0.1 1,324 34 4.4 18

Montana

62.3 512.3 -0.1 1,296 38 3.3 42

Nebraska

78.5 1,024.0 -0.2 1,275 42 4.0 31

Nevada

111.0 1,592.1 1.7 1,395 27 3.2 44

New Hampshire

67.9 688.8 -0.6 1,652 9 4.8 12

New Jersey

343.1 4,343.1 0.2 1,691 7 3.9 33

New Mexico

69.7 875.3 -0.3 1,275 42 4.1 24

New York

719.1 9,907.5 0.4 1,975 3 5.4 4

North Carolina

392.1 4,991.1 0.9 1,409 26 3.8 34

North Dakota

37.0 430.4 -0.2 1,350 31 2.7 49

Ohio

348.5 5,554.4 0.0 1,358 30 4.1 24

Oklahoma

129.3 1,717.1 0.1 1,217 48 4.1 24

Oregon

177.9 1,975.8 -1.0 1,468 19 3.2 44

Pennsylvania

398.1 6,094.8 0.2 1,470 18 4.0 31

Rhode Island

49.1 500.3 -0.1 1,429 22 6.0 1

South Carolina

192.4 2,344.7 1.5 1,276 40 4.3 20

South Dakota

41.2 458.9 -0.2 1,230 47 4.1 24

Tennessee

225.2 3,281.6 -0.3 1,424 24 3.8 34

Texas

860.8 14,255.2 0.8 1,549 13 4.2 21

Utah

144.6 1,761.6 1.4 1,389 28 4.1 24

Vermont

34.5 309.3 -0.9 1,378 29 5.3 5

Virginia

324.0 4,166.9 0.5 1,585 12 2.6 50

Washington

242.1 3,590.3 -0.3 1,948 5 2.4 51

West Virginia

62.8 698.3 -0.6 1,203 50 3.5 40

Wisconsin

213.9 2,946.2 -0.1 1,346 32 5.3 5

Wyoming

31.7 278.4 -0.8 1,297 37 4.4 18

Puerto Rico

53.5 974.7 -0.2 735 2.8

Virgin Islands

3.0 34.7 0.3 1,068 2.7

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on June 09, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 09, 2026 at 15:11 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]