Memphis is located on the Mississippi River and is home to over 600,000 residents. Memphis is the second-most populous city in Tennessee. The cost of living in Memphis is significantly less than the U.S. average, with a median home cost that is less than half the national average.
Top Industries in Memphis
As a transportation hub, the top industry in Memphis is trade, transportation and utility. However, the economy in Memphis is somewhat diversified, with the largest employers in the area being FedEx, the U.S. and Tennessee state governments and two local hospitals: Methodist Le Bonheur and Baptist Memorial. The fastest-growing industries in the city are professional and business services and leisure and hospitality.
The highest-paying vocational careers in Memphis include:
Why Is Memphis Good for Trade and Vocational Students?
The state of Tennessee offers both needs-based and merit-based financial grants and loans for vocational schools in Memphis. Specific programs have been set up to help students enrolled in two-year community colleges and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT).
Among the trade schools in Memphis are:
- Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Memphis is the Memphis campus of the TCAT. This technical school offers a wide range of degree programs and certificate programs in transportation-related fields, including truck driving and diesel maintenance, and health-related fields, such as nursing, dental assisting and pharmacy assisting. TCAT also offers barbering and cosmetology certificate programs.
- Southwest Tennessee Community College has certificate programs for the careers for which Memphis has the highest demand, including accounting, transportation and logistics management and nursing.
- William R. Moore College of Technology is a private school that offers certificate programs in technical fields such as HVAC, automotive technology, industrial plant maintenance and welding.
The strong economy and low cost of living can give a head start to those educated in technical schools in Memphis.
Other pages on our site provide more information about how learning a trade can advance a career.
Learn More about Memphis
Demographics | Total Population | 653,248 |
Education and Earnings | # Enrolled in College | 35,340 |
| Median Earnings Without High School Degree | $19,782 | |
| Median Earnings With High School Degree | $24,966 | |
| Median Earnings With Associate Degree | $29,055 |
Commute | Average Commute Time | 22 minutes |
| % Commutes by Walking | 1.6% | |
| % Commutes by Bicycle | 0.2% | |
| % Commutes by Public Transportation | 1.7% |
Housing | Median Housing Cost | $898 |
| Median Gross Rent | $884 | |
| Median House Value | $97,000 |