What Accountants and Auditors earn in Davidson County, TN
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $78,080: the median annual pay for Accountants and Auditors in Davidson County, TN. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $37.54 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $84,930, which is 8.8% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 11,290 people working in this occupation across the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Davidson County, TN has roughly 715,388 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Accountants and Auditors in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $53,650 a year ($25.79 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $125,740 or more ($60.45 an hour). That is a gap of $72,090 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $65,300 at the 25th percentile and $97,420 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.3 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $37.54 an hour or $78,080 a year at the median for Davidson County, TN. Before any deductions, that is $6,507 a month, $3,003 every two weeks and $1,502 each week. After taxes the same job pays $30.52 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Davidson County, TN compares
Compared with the Tennessee average
A worker in this occupation in Davidson County, TN earns $1,741 more than the Tennessee average of $76,339, a premium of 2.3%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,741 before tax and roughly $1,415 after tax. Within Tennessee, Davidson County, TN already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Accountants and Auditors is $86,390 across the contiguous United States. At $78,080, Davidson County, TN pays $8,310 less, which is 9.6% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Davidson County, TN
Among the 532 occupations with published wages in Davidson County, TN, Accountants and Auditors ranks number 131 by median pay, ahead of about 76% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $119,990 a year, which is $41,910 more than the median for Accountants and Auditors.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Accountants and Auditors earning the Davidson County, TN median of $78,080, they add up to $14,600. The result is $63,480 of take-home pay a year ($5,290 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $19 goes to taxes and $81 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 18.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $62,330. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $8,627, an effective 11.0% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $4,841 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,132. FICA totals $5,973, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Tennessee
Tennessee does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Accountants and Auditors in Davidson County, TN is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $3,904 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $325 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Davidson County, TN
IRS Statistics of Income data for Davidson County, TN show an average adjusted gross income of $115,391 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.4% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 10.8%, compared with the 11.0% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Davidson County, TN
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Davidson County, TN: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $63,480 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Davidson County, TN, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,650 a month ($19,800 a year), and at $1,798 for two bedrooms. For Accountants and Auditors, a one-bedroom absorbs 31.2% of take-home pay and 25.4% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.4% of gross pay for Accountants and Auditors in Davidson County, TN. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Tennessee residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,313 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $421, for $1,733 in total. Gasoline in Tennessee averages $3.08 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,426.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $26,395 a year in Davidson County, TN. Subtract that from $63,480 of take-home pay and $37,085 remains, which is $3,090 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 47.5% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Accountants and Auditors afford to live in Davidson County, TN?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $78,080 that ceiling is $1,952 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,650 is $302 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.73 an hour; the median for Accountants and Auditors is $37.54, which is 18% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $30.52 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 12.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,798 a month means $899 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $9,012 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $46,097.
How fast you can save
At $3,090 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 4 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 8 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Accountants and Auditors pay in Davidson County, TN
How much do Accountants and Auditors make per hour in Davidson County, TN?
The median is $37.54 per hour, based on $78,080 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $25.79 at the 10th percentile to $60.45 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Accountants and Auditors take home after taxes in Davidson County, TN?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $78,080 becomes $63,480 a year. That is $5,290 a month, $2,442 every two weeks or $1,221 a week.
How much tax do Accountants and Auditors pay in Davidson County, TN?
Total taxes are $14,600 a year, an effective rate of 18.7%: $8,627 federal income tax, $5,973 FICA and no Tennessee income tax.
Do Accountants and Auditors earn more in Davidson County, TN than elsewhere in Tennessee?
Yes. The local median of $78,080 is +2.3% versus the Tennessee average of $76,339, a difference of $1,741 a year.
Can Accountants and Auditors afford a one-bedroom apartment in Davidson County, TN?
A one-bedroom costs $1,650 a month against take-home pay of $5,290, which is 31.2% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,952 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Accountants and Auditors in Davidson County, TN?
About $3,090 a month ($37,085 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $26,395 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Davidson County, TN at the 30% guideline?
$31.73 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,800 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Accountants and Auditors is $37.54.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Tennessee rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.