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Best Mechanical Engineering Schools Near Nashville, TN (2026)
Updated September 7, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Nashville, Tennessee has 5 accredited schools offering mechanical engineering programs. Nashville has a population of about 1,065,078. In the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area, the top-earning mechanical engineering-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $159,720 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Mechanical Engineering Schools to Nashville
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer mechanical engineering programs near Nashville, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Nashville city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Nashville.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Nashville is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area (BLS area code 34980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Tennessee statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Mechanical Engineers
$99,440
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$103,261
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$159,720
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$165,857
Industrial Engineers
$102,540
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$106,480
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians
$70,880
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$73,603
Mechanical Drafters
$62,420
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$64,818
Engineers, All Other
$98,000
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$101,765
Aerospace Engineers
$133,810
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$138,951
Cost Estimators
$81,300
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$84,424
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Nashville at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
96.3 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Nashville-Area Cities With Mechanical Engineering Programs
How many accredited mechanical engineering schools are near Nashville, TN?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering mechanical engineering programs near Nashville. The closest is Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN (2.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Tennessee Technological University (71.4 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying mechanical engineering roles near Nashville?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying mechanical engineering-related roles near Nashville are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($159,720), Aerospace Engineers ($133,810), Industrial Engineers ($102,540). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Tennessee statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Brentwood instead of Nashville?
Brentwood, TN is 12.4 miles from Nashville and has its own set of local mechanical engineering programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 7, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
