2026 Salary — Tennessee
Updated April 29, 2026
Machine Learning Engineer Salary in Tennessee: $154K Median
Machine Learning Engineers in Tennessee earn between $105K and $280K per year.
That's -5% below the US national median.
Quick Answer
As of April 2026, the median Machine Learning Engineer salary in Tennessee is $153,900 per year — -5% below the US national median of $162,000. Salaries range from $104,500 (entry, 25th percentile) to $280,250 (90th percentile). Tennessee's cost-of-living index is 92. Tennessee has no state income tax.
Median
$153,900
+520.0% YoY
Entry
$123,500
Experienced
$237,500
Top 10%
$280,250
About Machine Learning Engineers in Tennessee
ML engineers design, build, and deploy machine learning models at scale, bridging research and production engineering.
Hot 2026 Skills
LLMsPyTorchRAG/fine-tuningDistributed trainingMLOps
ATS Keywords
PythonPyTorchTensorFlowscikit-learnMLOpsKubernetesfeature engineeringdistributed trainingLLMs
How to Negotiate Your Machine Learning Engineer Salary in Tennessee
Walk-away anchor: $133,826.
Leverage Points
- Reference levels.fyi total compensation data for your level (L4/L5/etc.) at comparable companies
- Quantify recent shipped impact: latency reduced, revenue driven, on-call incidents resolved
- Hold a competing offer (or credible interview pipeline) before the salary conversation
- Highlight in-demand skill premiums: LLMs, Kubernetes, Rust, distributed systems
Negotiate Beyond Base
Sign-on bonus ($25K-$100K is standard at Big Tech)RSU refreshers and accelerated vesting cliffsRemote/hybrid flexibility and home-office stipendAnnual learning budget and conference allowanceSabbatical eligibility after 4-5 years
Machine Learning Engineer Salary FAQ — Tennessee
What is the average Machine Learning Engineer salary in Tennessee?
The average Machine Learning Engineer salary in Tennessee is $153,900 per year as of April 2026. Salaries range from $104,500 (entry, 25th percentile) up to $280,250 (90th percentile). Tennessee has no state income tax — increasing take-home meaningfully.
How does Machine Learning Engineer pay in Tennessee compare to the US average?
Machine Learning Engineers in Tennessee earn approximately 5% less than the US national median ($162,000 nationally vs $153,900 in Tennessee). Tennessee's cost-of-living index of 92 amplifies the real purchasing power.
Did Machine Learning Engineer salaries in Tennessee increase in 2026?
Yes — Machine Learning Engineer salaries in Tennessee grew approximately 520.0% year-over-year, from $24,823 in 2025 to $153,900 in 2026. This reflects the broader Technology sector's wage growth, driven by LLMs and PyTorch demand.
Which Tennessee cities pay Machine Learning Engineers the most?
Top-paying Tennessee metros for Machine Learning Engineers: Nashville ($162K), Memphis ($143K). Click any city for full breakdown including take-home pay.
What's the job outlook for Machine Learning Engineers in Tennessee?
ML engineering demand exploded 40%+ in 2025-2026 with the GenAI boom. Frontier labs paying $500K+ for senior roles. Tennessee's top industries include Healthcare, Manufacturing (Auto, EV), Logistics (FedEx), and the state's unemployment rate is 3.6% — a tight labor market favoring candidates.
Does Tennessee have state income tax?
No, Tennessee has no state income tax. This significantly boosts take-home pay vs comparable salaries in tax states like California or New York. At $153,900, you keep all of it (after federal + FICA).
What skills are most in demand for Machine Learning Engineers in 2026?
Hottest 2026 skills: LLMs, PyTorch, RAG/fine-tuning, Distributed training, MLOps. ATS systems specifically scan for these. Adding them to your resume — naturally and in context — improves your match rate with Tennessee employers.
How can I increase my Machine Learning Engineer salary in Tennessee?
Based on levels.fyi data and what I'm seeing from comparable offers, total compensation for this level is closer to $X base plus equity. Can we close the gap on base or front-load the RSU grant? Beyond base, negotiate: Sign-on bonus ($25K-$100K is standard at Big Tech), RSU refreshers and accelerated vesting cliffs, Remote/hybrid flexibility and home-office stipend, Annual learning budget and conference allowance. Walk-away anchor for Tennessee: $133,826.
Methodology
Tennessee Machine Learning Engineer salary is the BLS national median ($162,000) adjusted by Tennessee's state multiplier (0.95×). YoY rate from BLS Employment Cost Index. Last reviewed April 29, 2026.
Machine Learning Engineer Salary in Other States
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