Statewide pay Government data
Plumbers in Tennessee earn a statewide median of $58,600 a year, 5% below the typical U.S. metro, ranking #41 of 50 states and DC. About 9,270 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Tennessee
See all states on the plumber overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes plumber pay for 10 Tennessee metros. The highest-paying is Nashville at $60,100, followed by Knoxville and Kingsport.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| NashvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $60,100 | $62,385 | 2,760 |
| KnoxvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $59,860 | $64,665 | 1,700 |
| KingsportTENNESSEE · TN | $59,360 | $68,666 | 290 |
| ClarksvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $58,930 | $64,796 | 280 |
| ChattanoogaTENNESSEE · TN | $58,720 | $64,200 | 860 |
| MemphisTENNESSEE · TN | $58,690 | $63,670 | 1,920 |
| ClevelandTENNESSEE · TN | $55,130 | $62,591 | 80 |
| MorristownTENNESSEE · TN | $53,780 | $62,271 | 70 |
| JacksonTENNESSEE · TN | $52,620 | $61,528 | 260 |
| Johnson CityTENNESSEE · TN | $48,480 | $55,136 | 210 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Tennessee's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Assemble, install, alter, and repair pipelines or pipe systems that carry water, steam, air, or other liquids or gases. May install heating and cooling equipment and mechanical control systems. Includes sprinkler fitters.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 42,000 openings a year. Typical training: apprenticeship.
Nationally, plumbers have 144 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.7× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
What the work is like Government data
How often plumbers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes medium preparation (vocational training or an apprenticeship, often 1–2+ years).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Getting started: registered apprenticeship Government data
Most plumbers train through a paid apprenticeship: you work and earn under experienced pros while taking classes, and pay usually rises as you progress. 727,586 people were active registered apprentices nationwide in FY2026, up 87% since FY2016, and construction is the largest field with 290,043 of them (40%), according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Search apprenticeship openings ↗Find training programs & sponsors ↗
Official U.S. Department of Labor tools at Apprenticeship.gov. Counts: DOL Apprentices by State dashboard, FY2026 (all occupations).
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of plumber apprentices in Tennessee who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 52% completed (U.S.: 55%), about 110 graduates a year. The typical program runs 8,500 hours, about 4 years of full-time work. Union programs had a 62% completion rate, compared with 24% for non-union programs. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
Tennessee runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, plumbing and HVAC contractors filed 1,305 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was falls, slips and trips (46%). OSHA also opened 6 fatality investigations at plumbing and HVAC contractors in Tennessee over the same years (federal and state programs).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Where to train in Tennessee Government data
5 schools in Tennessee offer plumbing programs below the bachelor's level, 4 of them at public colleges. 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 | 18 | — |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Elizabethton Elizabethton, TN · Public | Certificate | $19,042 | 11 | $33,714 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Morristown Morristown, TN · Public | Certificate | $14,319 | 11 | — |
| William R Moore College of Technology Memphis, TN · Private nonprofit | Certificate | $20,038 | 8 | — |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson Jackson, TN · Public | Certificate | $14,715 | 5 | — |
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.
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 plumbers.
Official Tennessee licensing site ↗
Requirements for plumbers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 4.8% of wage and salary workers in Tennessee were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#42 of 51 states and D.C.), and 5.7% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only plumbers.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in Tennessee
All trades in Tennessee.