Psychiatry Physician Salary in Tennessee (2026)
A Psychiatry physician practicing in Tennessee can expect a base salary inside the national Psychiatry band of $255K to $360K, with the median tracking close to $290K. 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.
Psychiatry compensation snapshot for Tennessee
- Typical Tennessee base range
- $255K – $360K (national median $290K)
- National demand signal
- very 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 Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
Where Psychiatry 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 Psychiatry, 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 Psychiatry 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 Psychiatry offer comfortably above the $360K national ceiling in year-one total cash.
Tennessee incentive programs that boost Psychiatry 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 Psychiatry 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 Psychiatry offer in Tennessee
When a Psychiatry candidate sends me an Tennessee offer, I check three things in order: (1) where the base lands inside the $255K–$360K 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 Psychiatry compensation review
Email hire@physicianrecruitment.com for a written Tennessee Psychiatry compensation review of any offer you've received, at no cost. We benchmark against MGMA/AMGA percentiles and the active Tennessee Psychiatry pipeline we're working in real time.