Compared with the local labor market
General Counsel 2 pay vs. Tennessee
Across all employers in Tennessee, the median wage for Lawyers — about 9,010 people — is $136,180. Tenncare pays a median base salary of $207,156 for this role, 52% above that figure — about the 76th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Tenncare sits in the local pay range
$76,510
$98,750
$136,180
$198,470
$324,880
Tenncare median · $207,156
The bar is the range of annual wages for Lawyers across every employer in Tennessee, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Tenncare’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. Tenncare’s median base salary is 30% above that national figure, about the 69th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$78,360
$102,990
$159,670
$221,370
$351,600
Tenncare median · $207,156
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 Tennessee range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Tenncare is $212,332, 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
General Counsel beyond Tennessee
This role is reported in 14 jurisdictions. In Tennessee, the median of $205,192 ranks #3 of 14. See General Counsel across all of Tennessee →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable General Counsel roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.