Orthopedic Surgery Physician Salary in Tennessee (2026)
A Orthopedic Surgery physician practicing in Tennessee can expect a base salary inside the national Orthopedic Surgery band of $525K to $815K, with the median tracking close to $625K. The Tennessee variation on that number is driven mostly by anchor-employer comp structure in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro and by shortage-area incentive stacking outside those metros — not by Tennessee cost-of-living alone.
Orthopedic Surgery compensation snapshot for Tennessee
- Typical Tennessee base range
- $525K – $815K (national median $625K)
- National demand signal
- high
- Top Tennessee hiring metros
- Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro
- Tennessee HPSA / shortage posture
- Rural west Tennessee and Appalachian east Tennessee carry HPSA designations
- Primary board
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS)
Where Orthopedic Surgery offers land highest in Tennessee
Tennessee is anchored by HCA TriStar, Vanderbilt Health, Ballad Health, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Erlanger Health System, and CHI Memorial. For Orthopedic Surgery, the highest-comp Tennessee opportunities I see are typically not in the urban core of Nashville — they sit in rural and HPSA-designated counties where the same Orthopedic Surgery role carries a 10-25% base premium plus signing bonuses of $30K-$100K and loan repayment of $50K-$200K layered on top of base. That stacking can push an Tennessee Orthopedic Surgery offer comfortably above the $815K national ceiling in year-one total cash.
Tennessee incentive programs that boost Orthopedic Surgery take-home
The Tennessee State Loan Repayment Program supports primary care, behavioral health, and dental providers in HPSA sites. The Tennessee Conrad State 30 J-1 waiver program is competitive and consistently filled. NHSC loan repayment is widely used across rural west Tennessee and Appalachian east Tennessee FQHCs. For Orthopedic Surgery specifically, these federal and state programs frequently add the equivalent of $30K-$60K per year of pre-tax value over the first three years of service.
How I benchmark a Orthopedic Surgery offer in Tennessee
When a Orthopedic Surgery candidate sends me an Tennessee offer, I check three things in order: (1) where the base lands inside the $525K–$815K band relative to MGMA regional percentiles, (2) the wRVU conversion factor and ramp/threshold structure, and (3) the call burden and stipend. Tennessee's licensing pace also matters for ramp timing: The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners and Tennessee Board of Osteopathic Examination license with typical timelines of 60-120 days for US-trained physicians.
Engage a Tennessee Orthopedic Surgery compensation review
Email hire@physicianrecruitment.com for a written Tennessee Orthopedic Surgery compensation review of any offer you've received, at no cost. We benchmark against MGMA/AMGA percentiles and the active Tennessee Orthopedic Surgery pipeline we're working in real time.