How many people are employed in Tennessee?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Tennessee has 2,971,191 employees across 149,973 business establishments in 915 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Tennessee?

The largest industries in Tennessee by employment are Limited-Service Restaurants (124,268), Full-Service Restaurants (121,246), and Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices (117,055).

What is the average payroll in Tennessee?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Tennessee. The highest-paying tracked industry is Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures at $242,432/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Tennessee?

Tennessee has 149,973 business establishments across 915 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · TN · Census CBP 2023

Tennessee Industry Benchmarks

Name: Tennessee Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 915 industries in Tennessee. Drill into any industry for a Tennessee-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

3.0M
Workers: 150K
Establishments: 915
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Tennessee

Tennessee employs 2,971,191 workers across 915 tracked industries, led by Limited-Service Restaurants (124,268 workers).

No single sector dominates Tennessee (lead 15%; top-three 39%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

Tennessee sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Tennessee private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Tennessee spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 15% of 2,971,191 private-sector workers (about the 73rd percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

TN breadth ledger · HHI 0.090
Sector	Workers	Share
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	455,877	15%
Manufacturing (31)	357,878	12%
Retail Trade (44)	349,855	12%
Top-three cumulative 39% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns TN DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#14/51 · 2,971,191 workers · 149,973 firms

EMP 2,971,191
EST 149,973
RANK #14/51
PCT 73rd pct
LEAD Health Care and Soci…
SHARE 15% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 19.8 /firm
BOOK 915 NAICS
PHOTO Arizona

Nearest employment-scale peer: Arizona (2,864,269 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Tennessee ranks #14 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	124,268	5,735	$2.4B	$19,249/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	121,246	4,962	$3.2B	$26,693/yr
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices NAICS 551114	117,055	1,209	$12.5B	$106,392/yr
Temporary Help Services NAICS 561320	106,334	1,026	$3.7B	$35,039/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	82,335	4,291	$8.3B	$100,886/yr
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores NAICS 445110	53,032	1,077	N/A	N/A
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	49,233	5,827	$1.3B	$26,871/yr
Janitorial Services NAICS 561720	35,239	1,182	N/A	N/A
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	33,348	1,454	$1.2B	$36,453/yr
General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload NAICS 484121	32,998	1,162	$1.9B	$56,407/yr
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools NAICS 611310	32,895	78	$1.5B	$46,759/yr
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	29,968	2,200	$2.6B	$88,353/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	28,397	337	$1.2B	$43,533/yr
Home Health Care Services NAICS 621610	26,753	636	$1.3B	$49,553/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	25,248	1,899	$1.7B	$66,028/yr
Elementary and Secondary Schools NAICS 611110	22,863	363	$1.1B	$46,218/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	22,736	430	$1.8B	$79,792/yr
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores NAICS 447110	20,218	3,213	$563.4M	$27,867/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	19,199	1,315	$1.3B	$69,716/yr
Security Guards and Patrol Services NAICS 561612	18,983	242	$625.4M	$32,945/yr

Breadth peers near Tennessee's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (2,971,191 in Tennessee), excluding TN.

Arizona 2,864,269 Minnesota 2,788,620 Washington 2,749,118 Missouri 2,611,057 Wisconsin 2,574,604 Indiana 2,573,310 Colorado 2,555,107 Massachusetts 3,473,172

Disclaimer: Tennessee (TN) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Tennessee businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · TN

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Tennessee (TN). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →