2021 Best Colleges in Tennessee Badge

2021 Best Colleges in Tennessee by Salary Score

By the GradReports team | Updated 3/1/2021

We calculate our Salary Score for each college in Tennessee to compare the first-year earnings of alumni from each college to earnings for alumni with the same major at other colleges. Salary Score on this list represents the combined scores for all the bachelor's degree programs at a college and indicate how alumni from all majors at a specific school performed. Vanderbilt University, for example, is ranked first in Tennessee because it has a Salary Score of 90.46. It also ranks #36 on our 2021 list of Best Colleges in the U.S.

To be considered for our state rankings, schools must offer and provide data for at least 8 bachelor's programs. You can click on a school's name to view individual program scores. Read our methodology to learn more about how schools were ranked.

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Our Salary Scoreâ„¢ is based on data reported by the U.S. Department of Education
Rank School Location Annual Tuition Salary Scoreâ„¢
#1 #1 Vanderbilt University Nashville Nashville $60,348 90.46
#2 #2 Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville Nashville $28,200 56.71
#3 #3 Rhodes College Memphis Memphis $52,310 49.00
#4 #4 Belmont University Nashville Nashville $39,850 46.57
#5 #5 Sewanee-The University of the South Sewanee Sewanee $51,146 46.45
#6 #6 Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro Murfreesboro $9,232 42.43
#7 #7 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville Knoxville $13,244 39.09
#8 #8 Tusculum University Greeneville Greeneville $27,208 38.74
#9 #9 Lipscomb University Nashville Nashville $37,152 37.41
#10 #10 Freed-Hardeman University Henderson Henderson $24,300 37.18
#11 #11 Maryville College Maryville Maryville $37,758 34.79
#12 #12 Union University Jackson Jackson $36,880 34.27
#13 #13 Lee University Cleveland Cleveland $21,730 34.13
#14 #14 The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Chattanooga Chattanooga $9,848 33.40
#15 #15 Southern Adventist University Collegedale Collegedale $23,870 32.38
#16 #16 Austin Peay State University Clarksville Clarksville $8,431 31.28
#17 #17 Tennessee State University Nashville Nashville $8,336 30.68
#18 #18 University of Memphis Memphis Memphis $10,056 29.74
#19 #19 Tennessee Tech University Cookeville Cookeville $9,802 29.22
#20 #20 Carson-Newman University Jefferson City Jefferson City $33,000 28.13
#21 #21 The University of Tennessee - Martin Martin Martin $9,912 25.11
#22 #22 East Tennessee State University Johnson City Johnson City $9,674 19.27
#23 #23 King University Bristol Bristol $33,784 18.78