Tennessee / Tenncare / Registered Nurse 5
Job-title file
Provide direct patient care — assess conditions, administer treatment and medication, and coordinate with physicians.
1 employees hold this title in Tenncare. Median total compensation for the role is $122,124, above the department median of $67,707.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in Tennessee, the median wage for Registered Nurses — about 72,200 people — is $81,500. Tenncare pays a median base salary of $122,124 for this role, 50% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Registered Nurses 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 Registered Nurses — about 3,379,720 people — is $97,550. Tenncare’s median base salary is 25% above that national figure, about the 81st 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 Tennessee range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Tenncare is $122,124, 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 departments
Registered Nurse 5 is held in 5 Tennessee departments. In Tenncare, the median of $122,124 ranks #5 of 5.
Median total compensation for the Registered Nurse 5 role in other Tennesseedepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 15 jurisdictions. In Tennessee, the median of $92,515 ranks #6 of 15. See Registered Nurse across all of Tennessee →
Median total compensation for comparable Registered Nurseroles 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.
Record list
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Registered Nurse 5/Tenncare
Source-specific fields
Karen Gonzales is a Registered Nurse 5 at Tenncare within Long Term Care. They work full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $122,124.