How Much Does a Physician Assistant Make in Tennessee in 2026?

A typical Physician Assistant in Tennessee earns about $56.85 per hour ($118,240 per year), according to the latest government wage data (May 2025). That works out to roughly $9,853 a month and $2,274 a week, figures calculated from the annual pay. Those numbers set the baseline for everything that follows in this state.

Tennessee pay sits 13% below the national figure of $135,880 a year, placing the state 48th out of 51 states and territories for Physician Assistant pay. About 2,240 Physician Assistants work across the state. That workforce size is large enough to produce reliable local pay figures for individual cities, and it puts Tennessee's ranking in clear context against nearby states.

Entry-level positions in Tennessee typically offer around $44.89 an hour, or about $93,380 a year, for Physician Assistants just starting out. Pay tends to move toward the typical figure of $118,240 within a few years, as new PAs gain clinical hours and take on more independent responsibilities. Setting plays a role too, with hospital and specialty roles often starting higher than primary care clinics.

Experienced Physician Assistants in Tennessee often earn upwards of $63.70 an hour ($132,500 a year), and the top 10% of earners make over $141,670 a year. Reaching that level usually takes years of steady practice. The entry-to-top spread comes to $48,290, and that gap tends to track years of experience, practice setting, and which Tennessee city a PA works in.

Tennessee's typical Physician Assistant pay rose from $87,080 in 2015 to $118,240 in 2025, a climb of $31,160 over the decade. That comes to a 36% rise. The increase was fairly steady across most years, including a notable jump between 2019 and 2020, rather than one single sharp spike.

The national figure rose 38% over the same decade, so Tennessee's growth tracked close to that pace without pulling ahead. Pay for Physician Assistants has clearly moved up over the past ten years. Someone entering the field in Tennessee now starts from a higher base than a decade ago, though past growth is not a promise of future gains.

Pay runs highest in the Nashville area, where Franklin, Murfreesboro, Davidson, and Nashville share the same metro figures: $129,050 a year ($62.04 an hour), about 9% above the statewide figure. Memphis follows at $121,900 a year, and Chattanooga comes in close behind at $121,600 a year. Clarksville and the Bristol-Kingsport area sit in a similar range, just above $117,000 a year.

Johnson City posts the lowest figure among Tennessee's tracked cities at $100,060 a year ($48.11 an hour), putting the full city spread at $28,990. The Nashville-Franklin-Murfreesboro metro also carries the largest Physician Assistant workforce in the state at 750 workers. Each city figure covers its full metro area, and lower pay in places like Johnson City often lines up with a lower cost of living.

Tennessee trails most of its neighbors on Physician Assistant pay. Virginia pays 15% higher at $135,940 a year, and Missouri runs 14% higher at $135,130. North Carolina pays 9% more at $129,360, while Alabama pays 11% lower at $104,960 and Mississippi runs 10% lower at $105,920. Physician Assistant licensure in one state can often be endorsed into a neighboring state, which makes comparing these figures useful for anyone weighing a move nearby.

Physician Assistants in Tennessee typically earn $118,240 a year, a figure that has climbed 36% over the past decade from $87,080 in 2015. Pay runs below the national figure and varies by city, with Franklin and the Nashville metro area paying the most. Anyone weighing a move or a new license should check the Tennessee licensing board's requirements and review city-level pages on this site for local figures before deciding where to practice.