How much does an operations director make in Tennessee?

Estimated salary for an operations director in Tennessee ranges from about $48,431 at a small church to $88,316 at a large one, based on national church-comp data adjusted for Tennessee's cost of living.

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What does an operations director cost a church in Tennessee?

Q: What does an operations director cost a church in Tennessee?

In Tennessee, an operations director costs a church roughly $61,337 to $80,965 per year in total — about $70,538 at a mid-size church (250–499 attendance) — including employer payroll taxes, before benefits. Because this is a non-clergy staff role, the church also pays the employer share of payroll taxes (about 7.65%), so the real cost runs above the salary, before benefits.

The short answer

In Tennessee, an operations director costs a church roughly $61,337–$80,965 per year in total — about $70,538 at a typical mid-size church (250–499 attendance) — including employer payroll taxes, before benefits. Because this is a non-clergy staff role, the church also pays the employer share of payroll taxes (about 7.65%), so the real cost runs above the salary, before benefits.

The operations (or business) director keeps the church running underneath the ministry — finances, facilities, HR, and systems. Because the role maps closely to a nonprofit operations manager, its compensation follows both the local market and the complexity of what it oversees, and it becomes one of the most valuable hires a growing church makes.

Tennessee's cost of living runs below the national average, which pulls church salaries down accordingly (BEA prices Tennessee at 91.9 versus 100 nationally).

Operations Director cost in Tennessee, by church size

Church size (avg. attendance)	Est. salary	Est. cost to the church
Under 100	$48,431	$52,136
100-249	$56,978	$61,337
250-499	$65,525	$70,538
500-999	$75,211	$80,965
1,000+	$88,316	$95,072

"Cost to the church" = salary + employer payroll tax (≈7.65%) , before retirement, health, or other benefits. Add those — and an optional clergy Social Security allowance — in the calculator.

Salary figures represent estimated cash salary, before employer payroll tax, benefits (retirement, insurance), and any housing allowance.

Benchmarks built on 2024–2025 source data (BEA 2024, BLS May 2025).

These are state-level estimates — costs in Tennessee’s major metros can run meaningfully higher or lower. StaffClarity adjusts for your specific location.

Your church's real number

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Other roles in Tennessee

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Operations Director in other states

Operations Director in Texas Operations Director in Utah Operations Director in South Carolina Operations Director in Kentucky See all 50 states →

How these numbers are built: a national church-comp base for the role, scaled by church size and adjusted for state cost of living, then run through the same fully-loaded cost model our calculator uses. Sources: BEA Regional Price Parities (state cost of living, 2024); BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (May 2025); Lifeway Research / GuideStone SBC Church Compensation Study (biennial, free). Figures are planning estimates, not a guarantee — your church's real numbers depend on experience, scope, and benefits.