Career Training Path › Surgical technologist programs › Tennessee
Surgical technologist programs in Tennessee
Tennessee has 16 accredited campuses awarding surgical tech credentials. If you finish and work as a surgical technologist in Tennessee, expect to start around $47,620–$51,310 and reach a median of $60,530 with experience; the top quarter earn $64,430 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Tennessee). Graduates of these Tennessee programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $40,344 in their first year, against $41,966 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What surgical technologists earn in Tennessee
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 3,310 employed in Tennessee. National median: $64,650.
Campuses in Tennessee, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: BlountvilleChattanoogaCookevilleCrossvilleHarrimanHohenwaldJacksonKnoxvilleMemphisMorristownMurfreesboroNashville
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting | Nashville | for-profit | 513 | $72,963 | $6,840 | not reported | not reported |
| Northeast State Community College | Blountville | Public | 12 | $44,384 | not reported | 33% | not reported |
| Concorde Career College-Memphis | Memphis | for-profit | 24 | $41,500 | $24,439 | 55% | $29,351 |
| South College | Knoxville | for-profit | 12 | $40,855 | $19,916 | not reported | not reported |
| Roane State Community College | Harriman | Public | 2 | $40,344 | $9,548 | 36% | not reported |
| Fortis Institute-Nashville | Nashville | for-profit | 17 | $39,816 | $24,696 | 43% | not reported |
| Fortis Institute-Cookeville | Cookeville | for-profit | 8 | $38,008 | not reported | 50% | not reported |
| Walters State Community College | Morristown | Public | 13 | $35,754 | not reported | 33% | not reported |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Knoxville | Knoxville | Public | 30 | $33,372 | not reported | 71% | $23,962 |
| Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga | Chattanooga | for-profit | 21 | $31,784 | $24,141 | not reported | $29,203 |
| Nashville State Community College | Nashville | Public | 15 | not reported | not reported | 19% | not reported |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Murfreesboro | Murfreesboro | Public | 15 | not reported | not reported | 76% | $12,415 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Hohenwald | Hohenwald | Public | 8 | not reported | not reported | 65% | $18,463 |
| Baptist Health Sciences University | Memphis | non-profit | 7 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Crossville | Crossville | Public | 7 | not reported | not reported | 84% | $18,949 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson | Jackson | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 80% | $14,864 |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.