Memphis Paycheck Calculator (2026)

How the Memphis Paycheck Calculator: Take-Home Pay Works

This Memphis paycheck calculator estimates your take-home pay in Memphis, Tennessee, using the 2026 federal brackets, Social Security and Medicare. Memphis workers pay only federal tax and FICA because Tennessee has no wage income tax and Memphis levies no city wage tax. Enter your salary, pay frequency, filing status and any pre-tax deduction to see net pay per paycheck and per year.

How Memphis paychecks are taxed

A Memphis paycheck shows federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare and no state or local income tax. On $65,000 with a traditional 401(k), federal tax and FICA total about $10,300 a year, leaving roughly 80% of gross pay. Tennessee repealed its Hall tax on interest and dividends, so investment income is untaxed at the state level too.

Federal Form W-4 is the only withholding form you need.

Local taxes and payroll deductions in Memphis

Memphis has no local income tax, no state disability insurance and no paid family leave deduction. Logistics, health care, manufacturing and hospitality employ many workers, led by the shipping and distribution industry, and many hourly workers earn overtime and shift differentials that are taxed as wages.

See the Tennessee paycheck calculator for statewide rules.

How much Memphis workers earn

The Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area had about 611,670 jobs in May 2025. The median annual wage across all of them was $46,890 ($22.54 an hour), 1% below the Tennessee median of $47,380 and 8% below the national median of $50,980. The average wage was higher, at $60,240, because a smaller number of high earners pull the average up; the median is the better guide to a typical paycheck.

After federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (Tennessee has no state income tax), a single worker on that $46,890 median takes home about $39,856 a year, or $3,321 a month and $1,532.93 every two weeks.

Wage figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Memphis, TN-MS-AR metropolitan area. Take-home pay: this page's 2026 calculator, single filer, no pre-tax deductions, default settings.

Take-home pay for Memphis's most common jobs

These are the occupations with the most workers in the Memphis area. Each row shows the median salary and what a single filer keeps after 2026 taxes in Memphis.

Large occupations tend to pay below the median: 10 of these 15 pay less than the $46,890 median for all workers, which is why the overall median is lower than many people expect.

Worked example: $65,000 salary in Memphis

A single Memphis worker earning $65,000, paid every two weeks and contributing $100 per paycheck to a traditional 401(k), has gross pay of $2,500.00 per paycheck. Federal income tax after the $2,600 deferral and the $16,100 standard deduction is about $5,308. Social Security is $4,030 and Medicare is $943. Tennessee state income tax is about $0.

Net pay is about $52,120 a year, or $2,004.60 per paycheck, which is 80.2% of gross pay. Change any input in the calculator above to test your own situation.

Higher-paying jobs with many openings in Memphis

Among occupations with at least 900 workers in the Memphis area, these have the highest median pay. Federal tax takes a larger share at these salaries, so compare the take-home column rather than the salary when weighing offers.

Occupations concentrated in the Memphis area

A location quotient compares how common a job is locally with its share nationwide: 2.0 means twice as concentrated as the U.S. overall. These occupations stand out in the Memphis area and say a lot about which industries hire there.

Memphis pay vs. Tennessee and the U.S. for popular jobs

Median annual wages for well-known jobs in the Memphis area, the whole state of Tennessee and the United States. Pay usually tracks living costs, so a higher wage does not always mean more money left over.

What hourly jobs pay in Memphis

The lowest-paid 10% of workers in the Memphis area earn under $13.88 an hour. Common hourly jobs pay the median rates below; a 40-hour week at that rate takes home the amount shown after 2026 taxes. Check the current Tennessee minimum wage on the U.S. Department of Labor state minimum wage page, since several states raise it each year.

Pay by career field in Memphis

BLS groups every job into broad career fields. Here is how many people work in each across the Memphis area, the field's median salary and what that salary takes home in Memphis. Management pays the most at a median of $116,680; food preparation and serving related pays the least at $29,080.

How pay grows with experience in Memphis

The median hides a wide range. The lowest-paid 10% in a job are often new to it, while the top 10% are usually experienced, specialized or in management. The ranges below for common Memphis jobs show how much room there is to grow, with take-home pay at each level.

Cost of living in Memphis: rent, sales tax and housing

Memphis is one of the most affordable large cities, with one-bedroom rents around $1,000 to $1,300 a month. The combined sales tax rate is 9.75%, among the highest in the country, and property taxes are moderate to high. Lower housing costs offset the sales tax for many workers.

Hourly wages in Memphis: what different pay rates take home

Many Memphis workers are paid by the hour, so here is the estimated take-home pay at common wage rates for a single filer working 2,080 hours a year, using 2026 federal rules and the Memphis and state taxes in this calculator. The figures assume no pre-tax deductions, so your own paycheck will differ once benefits are included.

Overtime is taxed as ordinary wages, so an extra hour is worth less than the wage rate after tax. Use the hourly paycheck calculator to include overtime hours and different pay frequencies.

How a 401(k) contribution changes a Memphis paycheck

On a $65,000 salary with no retirement savings, estimated take-home pay in Memphis is $54,408 a year. Contributing 6% to a traditional 401(k), which is $3,900, reduces take-home pay by only $3,432 because the contribution lowers federal income tax. A 10% contribution of $6,500 lowers take-home pay by $5,720.

In other words, each dollar you save costs roughly 88 cents of take-home pay at this income. If your employer matches contributions, the true cost is even lower, so contributing at least enough to receive the full match is one of the most reliable ways to raise your total pay. Roth contributions cost the full dollar of take-home pay but grow tax-free.

Single or married: a $120,000 household in Memphis

Filing status changes the outcome even when income is the same. A single filer earning $120,000 in Memphis takes home about $93,250 a year, while a married couple filing jointly with one earner at $120,000 takes home about $100,780, a difference of $7,530 a year, because the joint standard deduction is $32,200 and the joint brackets are twice as wide.

If both spouses work, each employer withholds as if the job were the only income, which can leave you under-withheld, so use the multiple jobs paycheck calculator and update Form W-4. Head-of-household filers with a qualifying dependent can use the head of household calculator.

Rent and a budget on a typical Memphis salary

On the $46,890 median, the common guideline of spending no more than 30% of gross pay on housing allows rent of about $1,172 a month. Using the 50/30/20 rule on the $3,321 monthly take-home pay, that is about $1,661 for needs such as rent, food and transport, $996 for wants and $664 for savings and debt payments.

If rents run above $1,172 for the home you want, the usual fixes are a roommate, a longer commute or a second income in the household; the rent affordability calculator tests your own numbers.