Dog Trainer Pay and Health Insurance in Tennessee (2026)

Q: How much does a dog trainer make in Tennessee?

The BLS median wage for Animal Trainers in Tennessee is $37,250 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $30,760. The middle half earn $34,570 to $49,950, and the top 10% more than $86,450. BLS counts about 310 people doing this work for an employer in Tennessee. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Wage benchmark and the 2027 subsidy cliff

$37,250median annual wage, Dog Trainers in Tennessee

233%of the federal poverty level

$63,8402027 subsidy cliff, single-person household

Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.

This occupation is below the cliff in all 22 states reported.

What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Animal Trainers (SOC 39-2011) in Tennessee. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed dog trainer. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.

Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. State-level annual median wage (A_MEDIAN), detailed occupation. https://www.bls.gov/oes/. Retrieved 2026-08-03. Figures used unmodified; suppressed cells are omitted, not estimated.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. 91 FR 1797, 15 January 2026. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines. Retrieved 2026-09-27. The 2026 guidelines govern premium tax credit eligibility for plan year 2027 coverage. The 2027 guidelines apply to 2028 coverage.
Full dataset for all occupations and states: CSV · JSON (CC BY 4.0).

All 23 states

Benchmark premium and median wage for this occupation, ranked by premium.

#	State	Benchmark @40	Median wage	vs cliff
1	Maryland	$414	$46,390	below
2	Virginia	$455	—	—
3	Indiana	$474	$38,530	below
4	Nevada	$497	$36,060	below
5	Ohio	$513	$32,960	below
6	Michigan	$523	$34,100	below
7	Colorado	$557	$43,670	below
8	South Carolina	$564	$31,620	below
9	Oklahoma	$604	$33,120	below
10	Wisconsin	$611	$40,360	below
11	Georgia	$615	$38,130	below
12	North Carolina	$638	$40,860	below
13	Utah	$640	$35,380	below
14	Alabama	$645	$58,480	below
15	Illinois	$646	$34,560	below
16	South Dakota	$655	$39,380	below
17	Texas	$661	$33,290	below
18	Mississippi	$662	$35,240	below
19	Kansas	$670	$35,360	below
20	Florida	$683	$36,190	below
21	Nebraska	$710	$34,500	below
22	Tennessee	$711	$37,250	below
23	Arkansas	$774	$42,460	below

Questions

How much does a dog trainer make in Tennessee?

The BLS median wage for Animal Trainers in Tennessee is $37,250 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $30,760. The middle half earn $34,570 to $49,950, and the top 10% more than $86,450. BLS counts about 310 people doing this work for an employer in Tennessee. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Does being a dog trainer change what health insurance costs in Tennessee?

No. Under the ACA carriers may not rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Premiums vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size, so the benchmark of $711 a month applies regardless of trade.

Do dog trainers qualify for a subsidy in Tennessee in 2026?

Premium tax credit eligibility depends on household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not occupation. For reference, the BLS median wage for Animal Trainers in Tennessee is $37,250, which is below the 2027 cliff of $63,840 for a single-person household. Your own income and household size decide the answer.

What is the benchmark premium in Tennessee for 2026?

$711 a month for a 40-year-old, ranking 22 of 23 states published here. That is full price before any premium tax credit.

Where do these numbers come from?

Premiums come from the CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file and published state rate approvals. Wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Both are reproduced unmodified; the full wage dataset is downloadable as CSV or JSON.

Going deeper on Tennessee

This page compares states. For Tennessee specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — that is published on Coverage by County. To check whether a plan actually covers your hospital, see Plans By City.

← Dog Trainers in all states · All trades · All occupations

Want this worked out for your ZIP?

Put your ZIP code in and a licensed agent will show you the carriers filing in your county, what the cheapest plan costs, and what you would actually pay after any help you qualify for. No cost, and you talk to a licensed agent — not a call center.

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What Dog Trainers in Tennessee should expect in 2027

The biggest change here is a carrier walking away. Cigna leaves the ACA individual market on January 1, 2027 — one of the 6 carriers writing in Tennessee today. Every dog trainer on a Cigna plan is moving, and doing nothing just means the marketplace chooses the replacement.

Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. Tennessee has finalised: insurers were approved for an average 15.6% increase for 2027. Your own premium still turns on your plan and county.

Mark November 1, 2026 to open and December 15 to act. That second date guarantees cover from January 1 in Tennessee regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.

One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Tennessee. All 95 counties offer EPO plans only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as a dog trainer crosses county lines, weigh that above the premium.

A head start beats a scramble

You already know you are changing plans — Cigna is leaving. The only real question is whether you pick the replacement or the marketplace picks it for you, and that is a much easier decision made now than in the second week of December.

Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:

Whether your current plan and carrier are still writing in your county for 2027
What your income estimate should realistically be — the number your credit is calculated from, and the one dog trainers most often get wrong
Whether the doctors you actually use are in the 2027 network, before you are locked in

Map my 2027 options →

Dog Trainers Health Insurance in Tennessee