Accountant salary in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area

Pay in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area against Tennessee and the US

Accountants at the 90th percentile earn $114,890, 2.4 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.6. The middle half of accountants in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area earns $58,760–$90,990. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $32,230 wide, against $32,360 across Tennessee and $42,790 nationally: employers in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an accountant here

An offer at the 75th percentile instead of the median adds $15,440 a year in pay and about $19,923 in employer cost. Going down to the 25th percentile saves $16,790 in pay. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $83,680 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area, and the Tennessee statewide median of $76,840 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area

At the $75,550 median, a local hire costs about $97,484 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $21,934 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for accountants we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area

Of the 17 roles we track in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area, this one ranks #2 by median pay, after project coordinators ($81,590); recruiters come next at $70,460.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #3 of the 17 roles we track in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area (-9.7%), between data entry specialists (-8.7%) and HR assistants (-11.0%). The typical role here is at -14.3%, so, measured against the US, accountants cost more in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area than the area's general pay level would suggest. Accountants hold 5.9% of the jobs in these 17 roles in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area, 7.5% across Tennessee and 9.1% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Tennessee

Across the 14 areas of Tennessee with data for this job, the median runs from $64,710 in Johnson City to $78,080 in Nashville-Murfreesboro, a gap of $13,370 a year. Of the 7 areas in Tennessee with more accountants than the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area, 2 pay less: Knoxville, TN ($75,380) and the East Tennessee nonmetro area ($68,780).

the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area is #338 of 521 US areas for this job. Both its size and its pay sit in the middle half of US areas. Outside Tennessee, Reading and Corpus Christi pay just above the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area and Muskegon-Norton Shores and Abilene just below. All four are within $140 a year of the median in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, one pays more.

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How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.