Current Minimum Wage
Tennessee minimum wage$7.25since July 24, 2009

State minimum wage

Tennessee minimum wage

$7.25 an hour as of September 2, 2026. Tipped cash wage $2.13.

  • The Tennessee minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, set by state law effective .
  • No increase is currently scheduled in Tennessee.
  • Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.13 in cash, with a tip credit of up to $5.12.
  • At $7.25 an hour, full-time work (2,080 hours) pays $15,080 a year before taxes.
  • Tennessee law bars cities and counties from setting their own minimum wage.

Tipped cash wage

$2.13
Tip credit up to $5.12

Youth / training

None
No state provision; federal FLSA youth opportunity wage rules apply to covered employers.

Next change

None scheduled
Set by statute; no indexing

Local rates

Preempted
Tenn. Code 50-2-112(a)(1): 'all additional wage or employment benefit mandates imposed on private employers by a local government are hereby preempted'; a local government 'shall not require ... a...

Coverage, exemptions, and history

Who is covered. Tennessee has no state minimum wage law; the federal FLSA $7.25 applies to covered employers. TDLWD's wage pages (Wage Regulations Act) contain no minimum....

Tipped employees. Federal FLSA rules only; tipped employee = more than $30/month in tips.

Recent history. Tennessee has never enacted a state minimum wage; the federal rate has governed throughout.

DOL: employers covered by FLSA must pay the federal minimum of $7.25/hour.

Statute. None (no state minimum wage statute).

Common questions

What is the minimum wage in Tennessee?

$7.25 an hour as of September 2, 2026, under state law effective July 24, 2009.

When does the Tennessee minimum wage go up next?

No increase is scheduled.

What is the tipped minimum wage in Tennessee?

$2.13 in cash plus tips; the employer must make up any shortfall to $7.25.

Do any cities in Tennessee have a higher minimum wage?

No. State law preempts local minimum wage ordinances.

Sources

  1. https://www.tn.gov/workforce/employees/labor-laws.html official
  2. https://www.tn.gov/workforce/employees/labor-laws/labor-laws-redirect/wages-breaks.html official
  3. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state official
  4. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped official
  5. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages
  6. https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-50-employer-and-employee/tn-code-sect-50-2-112.html

Checked 2026-09-02 against Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Labor Standards Unit; researcher confidence 0.88.