- The middle half earn between $19.12 and $31.25 an hour.
- Tennessee ranks 27th of the 48 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Tennessee pays more than 5 of its 8 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 340 locksmiths on payrolls in Tennessee.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $113.02 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in Tennessee, bottom to top
BLS files these as locksmiths and safe repairers: the people who open and repair locks, make keys, change locks and combinations, and install and repair safes.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $16.65 | $34,630 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $19.12 | $39,760 | $20.75 |
| Median | $24.16 | $50,250 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $31.25 | $64,990 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $34.78 | $72,330 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $25.69 | $53,430 | $26.67 |
From the bottom tenth ($16.65) to the top tenth ($34.78), the top of the scale pays about 2.1 times the bottom in Tennessee, close to the 2.2 times spread for locksmiths nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.43 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $3.39 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $25.69, 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: $50,250 in Tennessee against $51,320 nationally, $1,070 less.
In the state ranking, Tennessee sits 27th, between Oregon ($24.25) and Missouri ($24.11). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Tennessee is in the middle: Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia pay more, and Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and North Carolina pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | $24.16 | $50,250 | |
| Alabama | $20.84 | $43,340 | −$3.32 an hour |
| Arkansas | $17.20 | $35,770 | −$6.96 an hour |
| Georgia | $25.99 | $54,050 | +$1.83 an hour |
| Kentucky | $24.58 | $51,120 | +$0.42 an hour |
| Mississippi | $20.64 | $42,940 | −$3.52 an hour |
| Missouri | $24.11 | $50,140 | −$0.05 an hour |
| North Carolina | $22.07 | $45,900 | −$2.09 an hour |
| Virginia | $25.76 | $53,590 | +$1.60 an hour |
How many locksmiths work in Tennessee
About 340 locksmiths work on payrolls in Tennessee, 2.3% of the 15,040 nationwide, the 13th largest count among the states.
That is 0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in Tennessee, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a locksmith business in Tennessee should charge
Say you run a locksmith business in Tennessee and pay the state median of $24.16 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 | $24.16 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $54,097 |
| Break-even rate | ($54,097 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $96.06 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $96.06 ÷ 0.85 | $113.02 |
That is $113.02 per billable hour, 4.7 times the wage, and almost the same as the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $31.25 in Tennessee, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $125.47.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $19.12, the rate only drops to $104.17.
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 locksmith in Tennessee
- Licensing. What Tennessee asks for before you can work on your own: Locksmith license in Tennessee.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how locksmiths 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 49-9094, locksmiths and safe 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: locksmith salary by state.