Riggers in the Knoxville area earn a median of $38,490 a year, 36% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #68 of 70 metros for rigger pay nationwide.
It's one of 2 Tennessee metros with published pay for this trade; see riggers across Tennessee.
Rigger pay in Knoxville at a glance
- Riggers in the Knoxville, TN metro earn a median $38,490 a year ($18.51 an hour), #68 of 70 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $35,830 and $50,770.
- After local prices, that median buys what $41,580 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,121 a month, 35% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
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Enter a rate to see where it falls among riggers in Knoxville.
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for riggers here is in the bottom 20% of U.S. metros, and also in the bottom 20% 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).
Knoxville scorecard for riggers 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.
Pay over time
The median pay for riggers in the Knoxville area went from $38,870 in 2020 to $38,490 in 2025, down 1.0%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -21.0% — a real pay cut. Some years are missing because BLS redrew or didn't publish this metro.
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 $41,580 would in a typical place, ranking #70 of 70 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 riggers do
Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
- Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
- Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
- Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.
- Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, rigger jobs are projected to grow 3.9% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 1,700 openings a year.
What the work is like Government data
How often riggers 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 riggers.
Official Tennessee licensing site ↗
Requirements for riggers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, riggers have 79 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, about the same as all jobs (87). The most common cause is falls, slips and trips.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying TN metros for riggers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| NashvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $47,180 | $48,973 | 60 |
| KnoxvilleTENNESSEE · TN | $38,490 | $41,580 | 70 |
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 riggers), 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.
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.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $38,490 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 rigger pricing & estimate templates →Compare Knoxville with another city →
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ToolBest cities for riggersRank 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 riggers, 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 riggers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.
Report a data issue on this page
The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for riggers as a separate industry, so that section is left out.