What Light Truck Drivers earn in Rutherford County, TN
According to the latest federal wage data for the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area, the median pay for Light Truck Drivers in Rutherford County, TN is $44,970 a year, or $21.62 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare (and no state income tax), the paycheck shrinks to $38,262 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Rutherford County, TN.
The mean wage is $49,390, which is 9.8% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 11,940 people working in this occupation across the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Rutherford County, TN has roughly 360,646 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Light Truck Drivers in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $33,620 a year ($16.16 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $80,180 or more ($38.55 an hour). That is a gap of $46,560 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $40,190 at the 25th percentile and $54,110 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.4 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: $21.62 an hour or $44,970 a year at the median for Rutherford County, TN. Before any deductions, that is $3,748 a month, $1,730 every two weeks and $865 each week. After taxes the same job pays $18.40 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Rutherford County, TN compares
Compared with the Tennessee average
Pay for Light Truck Drivers in Rutherford County, TN is in line with the statewide figure: $44,970 locally against an employment-weighted Tennessee average of $44,720, a difference of only $250 (0.6%). Within Tennessee, Rutherford County, TN already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Light Truck Drivers is $44,271 across the contiguous United States. At $44,970, Rutherford County, TN pays $699 more, which is 1.6% above 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 Rutherford County, TN
Among the 532 occupations with published wages in Rutherford County, TN, Light Truck Drivers ranks number 418 by median pay, ahead of about 21% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $119,990 a year, which is $75,020 more than the median for Light Truck Drivers.
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 Light Truck Drivers earning the Rutherford County, TN median of $44,970, they add up to $6,708. The result is $38,262 of take-home pay a year ($3,188 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $15 goes to taxes and $85 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 14.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $29,220. 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 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,268, an effective 7.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% 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 $2,788 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $652. FICA totals $3,440, 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 Light Truck Drivers in Rutherford 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 $2,249 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $187 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Rutherford County, TN
IRS Statistics of Income data for Rutherford County, TN show an average adjusted gross income of $76,322 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.5%, compared with the 7.3% 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 Rutherford County, TN
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Rutherford County, TN: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $38,262 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Rutherford 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 Light Truck Drivers, a one-bedroom absorbs 51.8% of take-home pay and 44.0% 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 7.6% of gross pay for Light Truck Drivers in Rutherford 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 Rutherford County, TN. Subtract that from $38,262 of take-home pay and $11,867 remains, which is $989 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 26.4% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Light Truck Drivers afford to live in Rutherford 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 $44,970 that ceiling is $1,124 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,650 is $526 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.73 an hour; the median for Light Truck Drivers is $21.62, which is 32% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $18.40 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 20.7 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 $20,879.
How fast you can save
At $989 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 11 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 22 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Light Truck Drivers pay in Rutherford County, TN
How much do Light Truck Drivers make per hour in Rutherford County, TN?
The median is $21.62 per hour, based on $44,970 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $16.16 at the 10th percentile to $38.55 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Light Truck Drivers take home after taxes in Rutherford County, TN?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $44,970 becomes $38,262 a year. That is $3,188 a month, $1,472 every two weeks or $736 a week.
How much tax do Light Truck Drivers pay in Rutherford County, TN?
Total taxes are $6,708 a year, an effective rate of 14.9%: $3,268 federal income tax, $3,440 FICA and no Tennessee income tax.
Do Light Truck Drivers earn more in Rutherford County, TN than elsewhere in Tennessee?
It is about the same. The local median of $44,970 is within 0.6% of the Tennessee average of $44,720.
Can Light Truck Drivers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Rutherford County, TN?
A one-bedroom costs $1,650 a month against take-home pay of $3,188, which is 51.7% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,124 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Light Truck Drivers in Rutherford County, TN?
About $989 a month ($11,867 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 Rutherford 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 Light Truck Drivers is $21.62.
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.