Metro Nashville / Public Defender
Role across Metro Nashville
Public Defender
Carry out the duties of this position in support of the agency's public mission.
2 people hold the Public Defender role across 1 department in Metro Nashville, with a median total compensation of $129,493.
- Employees
- 2
- Median pay
- $129,493
- Departments
- 1
- Cross-jurisdiction
- —
Compared with the local labor market
Public Defender pay vs. the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area
Across all employers in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area, the median wage for Lawyers — about 3,990 people — is $142,540. Metro Nashville pays a median base salary of $113,917 for this role, 20% below that figure — about the 32nd percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Metro Nashville sits in the local pay range
The bar is the range of annual wages for Lawyers across every employer in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Metro Nashville’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Lawyers — about 754,500 people — is $159,670. Metro Nashville’s median base salary is 29% below that national figure, about the 30th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Metro Nashville is $129,493, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Public Defender pay in other jurisdictions
Where Public Defenders are paid most
Median total compensation for comparable Public Defenderroles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.