- The middle half earn between $18.39 and $28.38 an hour.
- Tennessee ranks 39th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Tennessee pays more than 4 of its 8 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 35,790 handymen on payrolls in Tennessee.
- At the state median wage, a handyman business needs to bill about $110.47 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Handyman pay in Tennessee, bottom to top
BLS has no separate figure for handymen. These are its numbers for general maintenance and repair workers, the closest group: people who keep buildings and equipment in repair using the skills of two or more trades. Real estate, schools and government are among the top industries BLS lists for them.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $16.25 | $33,810 | $17.00 |
| 25th percentile | $18.39 | $38,250 | $19.64 |
| Median | $22.71 | $47,240 | $23.84 |
| 75th percentile | $28.38 | $59,040 | $30.10 |
| 90th percentile | $33.17 | $68,990 | $37.11 |
| Average (mean) | $23.83 | $49,570 | $25.86 |
From the bottom tenth ($16.25) to the top tenth ($33.17), the top of the scale pays about 2 times the bottom in Tennessee, close to the 2.2 times spread for handymen nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.75 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $3.94 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $23.83, 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: $47,240 in Tennessee against $49,590 nationally, $2,350 less.
In the state ranking, Tennessee sits 39th, between Michigan ($22.87) and Kansas ($22.70). The range runs from $18.70 in West Virginia to $29.00 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Tennessee is in the middle: Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia pay more, and Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | $22.71 | $47,240 | |
| Alabama | $20.97 | $43,630 | −$1.74 an hour |
| Arkansas | $20.87 | $43,400 | −$1.84 an hour |
| Georgia | $22.92 | $47,680 | +$0.21 an hour |
| Kentucky | $22.50 | $46,810 | −$0.21 an hour |
| Mississippi | $21.32 | $44,350 | −$1.39 an hour |
| Missouri | $23.26 | $48,370 | +$0.55 an hour |
| North Carolina | $23.03 | $47,910 | +$0.32 an hour |
| Virginia | $23.79 | $49,470 | +$1.08 an hour |
How many handymen work in Tennessee
About 35,790 handymen work on payrolls in Tennessee, 2.3% of the 1,529,700 nationwide, the 13th largest count among the states.
That is 10.9 of every 1,000 jobs in Tennessee, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a handyman business in Tennessee should charge
Say you run a handyman business in Tennessee and pay the state median of $22.71 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 | $22.71 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $50,850 |
| Break-even rate | ($50,850 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $93.90 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $93.90 ÷ 0.85 | $110.47 |
That is $110.47 per billable hour, 4.9 times the wage, and $1.98 less than the $112.46 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $28.38 in Tennessee, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $120.43.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $18.39, the rate only drops to $102.88.
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 a handyman in Tennessee
- Licensing. What Tennessee asks for before you can work on your own: Handyman license in Tennessee.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how handyman businesses 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 49-9071, maintenance and repair workers, general, 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: handyman salary by state.