What Office Clerks, General earn in Rutherford County, TN
The median pay for Office Clerks, General in Rutherford County, TN is $43,860 per year, which works out to $21.09 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area, the labor market that Rutherford County, TN belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $44,990, which is 2.6% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 16,770 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 Office Clerks, General in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $28,940 a year ($13.91 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $61,490 or more ($29.56 an hour). That is a gap of $32,550 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $36,340 at the 25th percentile and $54,510 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.1 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: $21.09 an hour or $43,860 a year at the median for Rutherford County, TN. Before any deductions, that is $3,655 a month, $1,687 every two weeks and $843 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.97 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
A worker in this occupation in Rutherford County, TN earns $4,202 more than the Tennessee average of $39,658, a premium of 10.6%. Over a year that premium is worth $4,202 before tax and roughly $3,580 after tax. 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 Office Clerks, General is $44,586 across the contiguous United States. At $43,860, Rutherford County, TN pays $726 less, which is 1.6% 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 Rutherford County, TN
Among the 532 occupations with published wages in Rutherford County, TN, Office Clerks, General ranks number 437 by median pay, ahead of about 18% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $119,990 a year, which is $76,130 more than the median for Office Clerks, General.
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 Office Clerks, General earning the Rutherford County, TN median of $43,860, they add up to $6,490. The result is $37,370 of take-home pay a year ($3,114 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 14.8%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $28,110. 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 $3,135, an effective 7.1% 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 $2,719 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $636. FICA totals $3,355, 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 Office Clerks, General 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 $2,193 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $183 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 7.1% 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 $37,370 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 Office Clerks, General, a one-bedroom absorbs 53.0% of take-home pay and 45.1% 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 7.8% of gross pay for Office Clerks, General 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 $37,370 of take-home pay and $10,975 remains, which is $915 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 25.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Office Clerks, General 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 $43,860 that ceiling is $1,097 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,650 is $554 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 Office Clerks, General is $21.09, which is 34% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.97 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 21.2 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 $19,987.
How fast you can save
At $915 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 Office Clerks, General pay in Rutherford County, TN
How much do Office Clerks, General make per hour in Rutherford County, TN?
The median is $21.09 per hour, based on $43,860 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $13.91 at the 10th percentile to $29.56 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Office Clerks, General take home after taxes in Rutherford County, TN?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $43,860 becomes $37,370 a year. That is $3,114 a month, $1,437 every two weeks or $719 a week.
How much tax do Office Clerks, General pay in Rutherford County, TN?
Total taxes are $6,490 a year, an effective rate of 14.8%: $3,135 federal income tax, $3,355 FICA and no Tennessee income tax.
Do Office Clerks, General earn more in Rutherford County, TN than elsewhere in Tennessee?
Yes. The local median of $43,860 is +10.6% versus the Tennessee average of $39,658, a difference of $4,202 a year.
Can Office Clerks, General afford a one-bedroom apartment in Rutherford County, TN?
A one-bedroom costs $1,650 a month against take-home pay of $3,114, which is 53.0% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,097 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Office Clerks, General in Rutherford County, TN?
About $915 a month ($10,975 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 Office Clerks, General is $21.09.
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.