- The middle half earn between $21.88 and $28.27 an hour.
- Tennessee ranks 25th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Tennessee pays more than 5 of its 8 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 690 appliance technicians on payrolls in Tennessee.
- At the state median wage, an appliance repair business needs to bill about $112.46 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Appliance Technician pay in Tennessee, bottom to top
BLS files these as home appliance repairers: the techs who repair, adjust and install electric and gas household appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers and ovens.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $19.07 | $39,670 | $17.40 |
| 25th percentile | $21.88 | $45,500 | $21.05 |
| Median | $23.84 | $49,580 | $24.51 |
| 75th percentile | $28.27 | $58,800 | $30.47 |
| 90th percentile | $31.25 | $64,990 | $38.78 |
| Average (mean) | $25.20 | $52,410 | $26.94 |
Pay is bunched up in Tennessee. The top tenth earn $31.25 an hour or more, about 1.6 times the $19.07 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.2 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
The floor is higher than nationally ($19.07 against $17.40) but the ceiling is lower ($31.25 against $38.78), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $25.20, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Tennessee compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $49,580 in Tennessee against $50,990 nationally, $1,410 less.
In the state ranking, Tennessee sits 25th, between Kentucky ($23.90) and Georgia ($23.80). The range runs from $17.17 in West Virginia to $34.02 in Massachusetts.
Against its neighboring states, Tennessee is in the middle: Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia pay more, and Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri and North Carolina pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | $23.84 | $49,580 | |
| Alabama | $24.13 | $50,190 | +$0.29 an hour |
| Arkansas | $18.60 | $38,680 | −$5.24 an hour |
| Georgia | $23.80 | $49,500 | −$0.04 an hour |
| Kentucky | $23.90 | $49,710 | +$0.06 an hour |
| Mississippi | $17.25 | $35,890 | −$6.59 an hour |
| Missouri | $23.33 | $48,530 | −$0.51 an hour |
| North Carolina | $22.73 | $47,270 | −$1.11 an hour |
| Virginia | $28.76 | $59,820 | +$4.92 an hour |
How many appliance technicians work in Tennessee
About 690 appliance technicians work on payrolls in Tennessee, 2.1% of the 32,150 nationwide, the 16th largest count among the states.
That is 0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in Tennessee, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What an appliance repair business in Tennessee should charge
Say you run an appliance repair business in Tennessee and pay the state median of $23.84 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $23.84 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $53,381 |
| Break-even rate | ($53,381 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $95.59 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $95.59 ÷ 0.85 | $112.46 |
That is $112.46 per billable hour, 4.7 times the wage, and $1.18 less than the $113.63 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $28.27 in Tennessee, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $120.24.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $21.88, the rate only drops to $109.01.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an appliance technician in Tennessee
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how appliance repair shops run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9031, home appliance repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: appliance technician salary by state.