Pay and cost of living in Shelby County, TN
Across the 25 occupations we cover in Shelby County, TN, the middle median salary is $44,090 a year. Pay runs from $24,550 for Waiters and Waitresses up to $102,510 for General and Operations Managers, a spread of $77,960. Wages come from the Memphis, TN-MS-AR survey area.
A one-bedroom apartment in Shelby County, TN has a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,191 a month and a two-bedroom $1,301. Rent, food, home energy and gasoline for one adult add up to $20,887 a year. After federal, FICA and state income taxes, the average occupation here takes home $39,635 a year, and every one of the 25 occupations listed here earns enough take-home pay to cover the four basics.
Open any occupation below for its full payslip, the tax breakdown, the rent comparison and a plain-English explanation of what is left after the basics. Every figure uses the same method, so results are comparable from one job and one county to the next.
Housing, taxes and commute in Shelby County, TN
The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Shelby County, TN, set beside the Tennessee and national medians.
Median household income in Shelby County, TN is $63,767, 8% below the Tennessee median of $69,595 and $80,734 nationally. A year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent ($14,292) equals 22.4% of that income. The median of the occupation medians listed here, $44,090, is 31% below household income, which is expected because a household can hold more than one earner.
Homeowners in Shelby County, TN pay a median of $2,429 a year in real estate taxes, 68% above the Tennessee median of $1,442. With a median home value of $249,100, 13% below the Tennessee median of $286,700, the ratio of the two medians is 0.98% a year.
Renters in Shelby County, TN pay a median gross rent of $1,232 a month in the Census survey, 4% above the Tennessee median of $1,189. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent used for the budgets on this site is $1,191; the Census figure covers rental units of every size.
Workers in Shelby County, TN who travel to a workplace spend an average of 22.3 minutes each way, 13% below the Tennessee average of 25.7. 10.8% of workers work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally.