Environmental Engineer.
Nashville.
$104,000
median salary, at the national average
$81,000 to $131,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
If you are evaluating an Environmental Engineer offer in Nashville, TN, here is the reality: $81,000 to $131,000, with $104,000 as the midpoint. Right at the national average. PE licensure, specialization in water treatment or air quality, and experience with EPA regulatory compliance drive the biggest salary differences. Do not accept the first number. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Environmental Engineer in Nashville, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $102,930 for Environmental Engineers (SOC 17-2081) in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN metropolitan area, based on 180 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$74,890
25th percentile
$84,380
Median
$102,930
75th percentile
$116,990
90th percentile
$136,810
Workers surveyed
180
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Environmental Engineers (SOC 17-2081) rather than Environmental Engineer specifically. The Nashville range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 17-2081Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $93,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$68,000
to $83,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$88,000
to $109,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$114,000
to $135,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$130,000
to $161,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $28,000 to the total package.
Base
$104,000
Equity
$16,000
Bonus
$10,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $132,000
How Nashville compares.
Nashville, TN
$104,000
Cost of living: at average
National Average
$104,000
Same as local rate
Environmental Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Nashville.
What you should know.
The Environmental Engineer landscape in Nashville is not what most salary sites will tell you. Nashville has diversified well beyond music into healthcare, finance, and technology. The city is home to HCA Healthcare and a growing corridor of health tech startups. Nashville's moderate cost of living, combined with Tennessee's lack of state income tax on wages, makes it increasingly popular for corporate relocations and remote workers. PE licensure, specialization in water treatment or air quality, and experience with EPA regulatory compliance drive the biggest salary differences. Engineers working on remediation of contaminated sites or in the oil and gas sector earn premiums for hazardous conditions expertise.
Junior Environmental Engineers earn $70,000 to $80,000. Mid-career engineers with PE licensure reach $88,000 to $105,000. Senior Engineers and Project Managers command $105,000 to $130,000, while Principal Engineers and Directors at consulting firms exceed $145,000. In Nashville, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. PE-licensed engineers receive immediate salary bumps of 10 to 15%. Annual bonuses of 5 to 12% are typical at consulting firms. Government roles offer pension benefits and strong job security, though base salaries trend 10 to 15% lower than private sector. And on the tax side: tennessee has no state income tax on wages or salaries. This gives Nashville workers a meaningful take home advantage over peers in states with 5 to 10% income tax rates. When someone quotes you $104,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Use the healthcare industry concentration as leverage. Nashville healthcare employers are accustomed to national pay scales and will often match or beat coastal health sector offers. The range for Environmental Engineers in Nashville runs from $81,000 to $131,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
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Common questions.
Environmental Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Nashville.
Related salary pages
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Environmental Engineer Salary in Nashville, TN." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/environmental-engineer/nashville
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