Start with the answer
Recreation Workers pay in District of Columbia and Tennessee
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Recreation Workers is $46,460 per year in District of Columbia. It is $33,580 per year in Tennessee. District of Columbia is 38.4% above Tennessee on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 39-9032 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 470 wage and salary jobs in District of Columbia and 3,420 in Tennessee. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings