The Tennessee economy has seen several years of rapid growth, with the state’s entire gross domestic product increasing by nearly 50% between 2009 and 2018, indicating Tennessee has more than recovered from the Great Recession of the 2000s.
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More than 3.1 million people are employed all over the state of Tennessee, with close to 150,000 employers operating across the state. Tennessee was also home to about $200 million in startup investment during the third quarter of 2019 alone.
Tennessee’s economy is diverse with transportation and utilities accounting for 1 in 5 jobs and government, education and health, and professional and business services adding another 15% each to employment in the state.
SEE ALSO: 10 Reasons to Choose a Business Analytics Degree
Home to 18 Fortune 500 companies, Tennessee is well-positioned for consistent economic expansion over the next several years, which is one reason why the state is such an attractive option for professionals who are educated and experienced in business analytics.
Particularly for those with advanced degrees, Tennessee offers broad opportunities in business analytics and related fields. Let’s explore the business analytics employment landscape in the state, including how Tennessee compares to other states and which employers are looking to hire business analytics experts.
Business Analytics Salaries in Tennessee
Business analytics is a broad field, indeed, with dozens of potential job titles falling under that single umbrella. So while a career as a Business Analyst is certainly possible for some who are educated in the field, others may choose a more technical path, say, Data Scientist, while others may opt for managerial or consulting roles.
A handful of possible business analytics titles that can be found in Tennessee include:
- Data Scientist
- Management Consultant
- Financial Analyst
- Fraud Prevention Manager
- Market Research Analyst
- Business Intelligence Specialist
- Budget Analyst
- Insights Analyst
- Research Executive
- Decision Engineer
- Quantitative Modeler
- Operations Research Analyst
To get a picture of the state of business analytics employment in Tennessee, we’ll examine the most recently published data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Tennessee (and the rest of the U.S.) in five business analytics job titles.
For each of the five jobs we researched, the median annual salary in Tennessee is lower than the overall U.S. median for the jobs, but all five are far superior to Tennessee’s overall wage for all jobs, $34,902.
Median annual wage, Tennessee vs. U.S.
| Job Title | Tennessee | U.S. |
| Budget Analyst | $68,240 | $76,220 |
| Financial Analyst | $69,130 | $85,660 |
| Management Analyst | $75,530 | $83,610 |
| Market Research Analyst | $55,780 | $63,120 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $66,150 | $83,390 |
Tennessee tends to offer competitive wages compared to other Southern states, ranking near the middle among its regional neighbors for the median Management Analyst salary, though the District of Columbia tends to skew the numbers a bit.
Median annual wage, Management Analyst, Southern states
| District of Columbia | $103,300 |
| Maryland | $97,850 |
| Virginia | $97,420 |
| Texas | $85,770 |
| Alabama | $84,400 |
| North Carolina | $83,700 |
| Georgia | $80,710 |
| Delaware | $77,520 |
| Tennessee | $75,530 |
| West Virginia | $74,840 |
| Oklahoma | $74,820 |
| Louisiana | $72,900 |
| South Carolina | $68,900 |
| Kentucky | $67,130 |
| Florida | $65,940 |
| Mississippi | $64,520 |
| Arkansas | $54,200 |
In addition to wages that are considerably higher than what the average Tennessee worker makes, people with training in business analytics are likely to see growth in job openings well into the future. In some cases, Tennessee is expected to have among the highest growth rates. For instance, Tennessee ranks third among all the states for growth projected in Financial Analyst job openings between 2016 and 2026.
Projected percentage change in Financial Analyst job openings, 2016-2026
| Highest | |
| Utah | 27.3% |
| Arizona | 23.9% |
| Tennessee | 23.4% |
| Colorado | 22.9% |
| Washington | 21.6% |
| Nevada | 21.5% |
| Delaware | 21.3% |
| North Dakota | 20.7% |
| Idaho | 19.5% |
| Florida | 18.9% |
| Lowest | |
| Maryland | 7.9% |
| Alabama | 7.8% |
| Massachusetts | 7.0% |
| Illinois | 6.9% |
| New Jersey | 6.2% |
| Vermont | 5.6% |
| West Virginia | 5.3% |
| Mississippi | 4.9% |
| Alaska | 3.3% |
| Maine | 2.3% |
Growth data for Budget Analysts in Tennessee was not available, but the state is expected to see healthy growth in all other job titles, both in the short term and the long term, with particularly huge growth expected in Operations Research Analyst job openings.
Tennessee job opening growth rate, short- and long-term
| Job Title | Short-term | Long-term |
| Budget Analyst | — | — |
| Financial Analyst | 4.2% | 23.4% |
| Management Analyst | 4.4% | 26.6% |
| Market Research Analyst | 6.4% | 34.7% |
| Operations Research Analyst | 8.9% | 45.6% |
Wages vary considerably across the state, with at least one of the major cities in Tennessee offering typical salaries that exceed the state’s median annual wage for all five job titles. These range from a high of $79,980 for Management Analysts in Knoxville to a low of $53,860 for Market Research Analysts, also in Knoxville.
Median annual wage, Tennessee vs. select cities
| Job Title | Tennessee | Nashville | Knoxville | Memphis |
| Budget Analyst | $68,240 | $61,700 | $76,930 | $63,270 |
| Financial Analyst | $69,130 | $70,660 | $68,460 | $66,400 |
| Management Analyst | $75,530 | $74,280 | $79,980 | $78,860 |
| Market Research Analyst | $55,780 | $58,630 | $53,860 | $56,230 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $66,150 | $68,260 | $60,250 | $62,390 |
Tennessee Business Analytics Degree Programs
Tennessee is home to abundant educational opportunities for those with an interest in business analytics, and prospective students are likely to find challenging programs both private and public across the state.
SEE ALSO: Tennessee Masters in Business & Data Analytics Degrees
Business Analytics Degree Jobs in Tennessee
A business analytics education is likely to return dividends thanks to the diversity of industries and job roles that open up with training in the field, particularly for those who earn advanced degrees. Any organization that collects any sort of data needs people who know their way around business analytics.
SEE ALSO: Masters in Business Analytics Salary Outlook
Here is a sampling of the companies, organizations, agencies and other groups that had posted openings for business analytics professionals in Tennessee in late 2019:
- American Express
- Sysco
- Broadcast Music Inc.
- Unum
- PopHealthCare
- XSolis
- Zimmer Biomet
- HCA Healthcare
- Tractor Supply Co.
- Mars Inc.
- Experian
- Ascension
- Kforce
- Cook Systems
- FedEx
- Fidelity Investments
- Keurig Dr Pepper
- University of Tennessee Medical Center
- Clayton Homes
- Discovery
- Jewelry Television
Conclusion
Advanced training in business analytics, such as with a Master of Business Analytics, can open up a whole new world of exciting employment that’s grounded in cutting-edge data science and business intelligence technology. For those considering where to begin their careers, Tennessee is an obvious top candidate.
References
- Note: Information on recent job openings was gathered from Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com in late 2019.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance, Tennessee. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.tn.htm
- PWC/CB Insights, MoneyTree Report, Q3 2019. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/us/en/moneytree-report/assets/moneytree-report-q3-2019.pdf
- U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics Query System, Custom Tables. (Undated). Accessed from https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/home
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Tennessee. (2019). Retrieved from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TNNGSP
- U.S. Census Bureau, Quick Facts, Tennessee. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/TN/PST045218