Appliance Repair Technicians in the Knoxville area earn a median of $48,990 a year, 3% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #77 of 125 metros for appliance repair technician pay nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays less in Chattanooga.
It's one of 6 Tennessee metros with published pay for this trade; see appliance repair technicians across Tennessee.
Appliance Repair Technician pay in Knoxville at a glance
- Appliance repair technicians in the Knoxville, TN metro earn a median $48,990 a year ($23.55 an hour), #77 of 125 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $39,400 and $58,320.
- After local prices, that median buys what $52,923 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,121 a month, 27% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among appliance repair technicians in Knoxville.
Comparing two real offers with overtime and commutes? Use the job offer checker.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for appliance repair technicians here is below average compared with other U.S. metros, and about average once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is lower than in most metros (3.2%) and the population is growing faster than most (+6.8% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 81 one-person appliance repair businesses averaging $49,136 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $65/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Knoxville scorecard for appliance repair technicians Our calculation
Grades compare Knoxville with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($50,540).
Pay over time
The median pay for appliance repair technicians in the Knoxville area went from $40,190 in 2020 to $48,990 in 2025, up 21.9%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -2.8% — a real pay cut.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Knoxville Our calculation
Prices in Knoxville run 7% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $52,923 would in a typical place, ranking #58 of 125 on real pay.
Real pay or rent burden?
Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
Want the full picture? Build a monthly budget for Knoxville from this pay, local rent and prices.
What appliance repair technicians do
Repair, adjust, or install all types of electric or gas household appliances, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and ovens.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Bill customers for repair work, and collect payment.
- Observe and examine appliances during operation to detect specific malfunctions such as loose parts or leaking fluid.
- Talk to customers or refer to work orders to establish the nature of appliance malfunctions.
- Refer to schematic drawings, product manuals, and troubleshooting manuals to diagnose and repair problems.
- Trace electrical circuits, following diagrams, and conduct tests with circuit testers and other equipment to locate shorts and grounds.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, appliance repair technician jobs are projected to grow 1.9% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 2,800 openings a year. About 20% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often appliance repair technicians deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Licensing in Tennessee Official source
The main state licensing office in Tennessee is the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors. It can point you to the right license for appliance repair technicians.
Official Tennessee licensing site ↗
Requirements for appliance repair technicians vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, appliance repair technicians have 327 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 3.8× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying TN metros for appliance repair technicians
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| NashvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $53,700 | $55,741 | 260 |
| ClarksvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $49,400 | $54,317 | 30 |
| KnoxvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $48,990 | $52,923 | 60 |
| MemphisTENNESSEE · TN | $48,660 | $52,789 | 110 |
| ChattanoogaTENNESSEE · TN | $47,860 | $52,327 | 40 |
| Johnson CityTENNESSEE · TN | $47,620 | $54,158 | 40 |
See every metro in Tennessee.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Knoxville area's unemployment rate was 3.2% in 2025 (all workers, not just appliance repair technicians), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 3.7% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Knoxville area is 25 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 11% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 76% drive alone, 0% take transit and 13% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Knoxville area's population grew 6.8% from 2020 to 2025 (906,075 → 968,137), ranking #68 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +72,683) account for more than all of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Knoxville
The Knoxville area has about 432,053 homes. 42% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is newer than most; 16% were built in 2010 or later. 71% of households own their home, and the median home value is $351,400.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Knoxville are up 31% from 2021 to 2025 (5,990 → 7,855).
In 2025 the Knoxville area approved permits for 7,855 new homes (4,969 single-family), or 8.4 per 1,000 residents, ranking #50 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 81 one-person businesses (no employees) in appliance repair, averaging $49,136 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Knoxville compares among the best cities to start an appliance repair technician business.
They compete with 8 appliance repair companies that have employees (about 30 workers in total). 62% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Where to train near Knoxville Government data
1 school in or near Knoxville offers electrical and electronics repair programs below the bachelor's level. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Knoxville Knoxville, TN · Public | Certificate | $16,317 | — | — |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $48,990 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get appliance repair technician pricing & estimate templates →Compare Knoxville with another city →
Keep exploring
Could this trade pay more somewhere else?
ToolBest cities for appliance repair techniciansRank every metro on pay, buying power, rent and jobs.Is a job offer here any good?
ToolCheck an offer in KnoxvilleSee where it falls among local appliance repair technicians, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolKnoxville budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Knoxville metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank Knoxville against every other metro for appliance repair technicians. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.