Veterinary Technician Salary in Tennessee

At the median, Tennessee sits $4,570 below the nation: $42,810 against $47,380, a 10% gap.

The hourly median tells the same story — $20.58 against $22.78 nationally, also 10% lower.

Move to the edges of the range and the gap holds steady: the 10th percentile is $31,660 against $35,710, 11% below, and the 90th percentile is $57,040 against $63,180, 10% below.

The 75th percentile shows the widest scaled gap, $51,060 against $57,650, 11% lower.

The one point that breaks the pattern is the 25th percentile: $37,170 against $38,910, only 4% below.

A technician benchmarking a Tennessee offer against national percentile figures should expect roughly a 10% discount at every point except that lower-quarter mark, where Tennessee tracks the nation closely.

Half of Tennessee's technicians counted earned between $37,170 and $51,060 — a band $13,890 wide.

Nationally the same band runs from $38,910 to $57,650, $18,740 wide, so the Tennessee middle half is compressed compared with the national one.

The full range tells a similar story: Tennessee runs from $31,660 at the 10th percentile to $57,040 at the 90th, a $25,380 span, while the national span from $35,710 to $63,180 is $27,470.

The median sits $5,640 above the 25th percentile and $8,250 below the 75th in Tennessee, close to the same lean nationally, where the median sits $8,470 above the 25th and $10,270 below the 75th.

Below the 25th percentile, though, the Tennessee floor is comparatively wide: the climb from the 10th percentile to the 25th is $5,510, versus $3,200 nationally.

OEWS does not explain why a distribution takes this shape, so this page does not assign it a cause.

The data set behind this page carries Tennessee's hourly wage only at the median: $20.58, against $22.78 nationally, a 10% gap that matches the gap in the annual median almost exactly.

That makes the hourly median the figure to hold a posted hourly rate against, rather than a rough annual-to-hourly conversion.

For every other point in the range, the annual percentiles are the only guide this page has, so before comparing a posted hourly rate with them, ask the employer how many hours a week the role is scheduled for.

Tennessee licenses this credential through the Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, and holding it is mandatory to do the work, not only to use the title — the Board's rule states that practicing as a veterinary medical technician requires a lawfully issued license.

The route runs through graduation from an AVMA-accredited veterinary technology program and the VTNE, which must have been taken within the last 10 years of applying.

Continuing education runs annually at 12 hours, while the license itself renews every two years.

Using the title without meeting these requirements is a criminal offense.

The Tennessee requirements page on this site sets out the full route, including the fees and the exact continuing-education breakdown.