Tennessee minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Tennessee is $7.25 an hour in 2026. Tennessee's minimum is the federal rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and Tenn. Code Ann. 50-2-112 stops local governments from raising private-sector pay either by ordinance or through their own contracts.
Contents11 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $7.25 an hour, since July 24, 200923 |
|---|---|
| Next change | None scheduled. |
| Tipped employees | $2.13 cash wage, tip credit up to $5.123 |
| Overtime | 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week (federal law only)24 · details |
| Full-time pay | $290 a week, $15,080 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
What to know about the Tennessee minimum wage
Tennessee has never enacted a minimum wage statute, so the floor is the federal $7.25, unchanged since July 24, 2009, and it reaches only employers and jobs that the Fair Labor Standards Act covers.2 Workers outside that coverage have no hourly minimum under Tennessee law.
The state's main wage-floor law is about local power. As Tenn. Code Ann. 50-2-112 read in the 2021 code, "notwithstanding any charter, ordinance or resolution to the contrary," no local government may require a private employer to pay more than the minimum hourly wage that federal or state law requires, whether as a condition of doing business within its boundaries or of contracting with it.1 "Local government" covers counties, including those with a metropolitan form of government, municipalities, and their agencies and other political subdivisions.
The same section reaches public construction. A local government cannot require a prevailing wage above the rates set by the prevailing wage commission for state highway projects, or above the Tennessee occupational wages the Department of Labor and Workforce Development prepares each year for state building projects. The one exception is narrow: where obeying the section would cost a local government federal funds for a specific contract, project or program, it may require the wage needed to get those funds, for that contract, project or program only.1
Tipped employees who customarily receive more than $30 a month in tips may be paid $2.13 an hour in cash in 2026, a tip credit of up to $5.12.3 Minimum wage complaints go to the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.13 an hour3 |
| Maximum tip credit | $5.12 an hour |
Federal rules apply: in 2026 a $2.13 cash wage is allowed for employees who customarily receive more than $30 a month in tips, so the employer may count up to $5.12 an hour in tips.
An employer that takes a tip credit must make up the difference whenever wages plus tips fall short of the full minimum wage for the workweek. See the tipped minimum wage guide.
Overtime and salaried staff
| Weekly overtime | No state rule; employers covered by federal law pay 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week24 |
|---|---|
| Daily overtime | None in state law |
| Exempt salary | The federal level, $684 a week ($35,568 a year) |
Tennessee has no general state overtime law. Employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act must pay time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek. Tennessee also has no state minimum wage law.
Overtime at the minimum wage of $7.25 is $10.875 an hour. Salaried managers, administrators and professionals are exempt from overtime only if they meet the duties tests and are paid at least the exempt salary. See overtime rules in every state or calculate pay with overtime.
How the rate changes
The federal rate, $7.25 since July 24, 2009, changes only if Congress amends the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Indexed to inflation: no. No state minimum wage law; the federal rate applies and changes only if Congress acts.2
Rate history
Who is covered
Employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the federal minimum; employees outside federal coverage have no state-law minimum.
- Federal minimum wage complaints are handled by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243.
Cities and counties
Tenn. Code Ann. 50-2-112 bars counties, cities and their agencies from requiring private employers to pay more than the federal or state minimum, as a condition of doing business locally or of contracting with the local government, with a limited exception for federal funds.
Largest cities in Tennessee
- Nashville-DavidsonFederal rate $7.25
- MemphisFederal rate $7.25
Cities of Tennessee among the 50 most populous in the US (U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates for July 1, 2025). “Local” marks a city with its own minimum wage, “Regional” a state wage region, and “Federal rate” a city where the federal $7.25 is the rate that applies.
Neighboring states
If you live near a state line, the rate that applies is the one where you do the work, not where you live or where the employer is based.
| State | Per hour now |
|---|---|
| Missouri | $15.00 |
| Virginia | $12.77 |
| Arkansas | $11.00 |
| Alabama | $7.25 |
| Georgia | $7.25 |
| Kentucky | $7.25 |
| Mississippi | $7.25 |
| North Carolina | $7.25 |
Compare every state on the ranked list and map.
Get help or file a claim
If you are paid less than the minimum wage that applies to your job, you can file a wage claim with the agency below. Federal law prohibits firing or otherwise retaliating against a worker for complaining about federal minimum wage rights.
| Agency | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division |
|---|---|
| Phone | 1-866-487-9243 |
| The law | Tenn. Code Ann. 50-2-112 (local wage mandates prohibited); Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 206 |
Sources
- 1 Justia (unofficial reproduction of Tennessee Code, via web.archive.org), Tenn. Code Ann. 50-2-112 (2021 Tennessee Code, Justia; Internet Archive capture) Secondary reference · Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 2
- 3
- 4 U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Overtime Pay Checked Oct 28, 2026 · Back to text ↑
Is a rate wrong or out of date? Report an error