Tennessee Minimum Wage: Rate, Tipped Wage, and Local Rules

Tennessee has no state minimum wage law. Because the state has not enacted its own wage floor, the wage that legally applies to most Tennessee employees is the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). As of 2026, that $7.25 figure remains the effective minimum across Tennessee for workers covered by the FLSA. Tennessee is one of a handful of states with no minimum wage statute of its own, which means there is no separate state rate, no state-level tipped wage, and no state schedule of automatic increases. Before relying on any number, confirm the current federal rate with the U.S. Department of Labor and check the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development for any change in state policy.

The Rule: Federal $7.25 Governs in Tennessee

Most states either match the federal minimum or set a higher one of their own. Tennessee does neither. The Tennessee Code does not contain a general minimum wage statute that establishes an hourly floor for private-sector employees. As a result, the federal FLSA is the controlling law for nearly every Tennessee worker, and its minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has been in place since July 2009.

This has a few practical consequences. First, when Congress has not raised the federal minimum, Tennessee's effective minimum does not rise either, because there is no state law pushing it higher. Second, there is no Tennessee cost-of-living adjustment or inflation indexing that automatically increases the wage each January, unlike states such as Florida or Colorado. Third, if the FLSA were ever amended, Tennessee employers covered by federal law would follow the new federal number automatically.

An important detail: the FLSA covers the large majority of employers, but not literally every job. The FLSA generally applies to businesses with at least $500,000 in annual sales, and to employees individually engaged in interstate commerce (which, in practice, sweeps in most workers who handle goods, process card payments, or communicate across state lines). For the rare employee who is not covered by the FLSA and works for an employer not subject to it, Tennessee has no fallback state minimum to fill the gap. In those uncommon situations the federal floor may not technically apply, but such cases are unusual and fact-specific.

Tipped Employees: Cash Wage and the Tip Credit

Because Tennessee has no minimum wage law, tipped workers in the state are governed by the FLSA's tipped-wage rules rather than any state rule. Under federal law, an employer may pay a cash wage of $2.13 per hour to a tipped employee and take a tip credit for the difference between that cash wage and the full $7.25 minimum, up to a maximum tip credit of $5.12 per hour.

The tip credit only works if the employee's tips actually bring total earnings up to at least $7.25 per hour. If they do not, the employer must make up the difference so that the worker receives the full federal minimum for every hour worked. Key conditions under the FLSA include:

• Notice. The employer must inform the employee that it is taking a tip credit before doing so.
• Tips kept by the worker. The employee must retain all tips, except where a valid tip-pooling arrangement applies. Employers, managers, and supervisors may not keep employees' tips.
• A "tipped employee" threshold. Federal rules treat someone as a tipped employee when they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.
• Make-up pay. In any week the cash wage plus tips falls short of $7.25 per hour, the employer owes the shortfall.

Tennessee does not impose a higher cash wage or a different tip-credit cap, so the federal $2.13 cash wage and $5.12 maximum credit are the operative figures for Tennessee tipped workers as of 2026. Always verify the current federal tipped-wage rules with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, because federal regulations on tip pooling and tipped-work duties have changed in recent years.

Scheduled Increases and Inflation Indexing

There are none at the state level. Tennessee has no statutory schedule of future minimum wage increases and no inflation indexing. The wage moves only if Congress changes the federal FLSA rate. This is a meaningful difference from neighboring and comparable states, several of which raise their minimum every year. Workers and employers in Tennessee should not expect an annual January increase the way residents of indexed states do.

It is also worth noting that Tennessee has a state law limiting local action on wages, which means the wage picture is set almost entirely at the federal level and is unlikely to change without action in Washington.

City and County Minimum Wages

Tennessee does not allow cities or counties to set their own higher minimum wage. State law preempts local wage ordinances, so a Tennessee municipality cannot lawfully require private employers to pay more than the federal minimum through a local living-wage law. This is the opposite of states like California or Washington, where cities such as Seattle or San Francisco set local minimums well above the state figure.

Practically, this means there is a single wage floor statewide: the federal $7.25. A worker in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, or Chattanooga is subject to the same federal minimum as a worker in a rural county. Some local governments may set wage standards for their own public employees or for contractors doing business with the city, but those rules do not extend a higher minimum to private employers generally.

Overtime in Tennessee

Tennessee also has no separate state overtime law, so overtime is governed by the FLSA. Covered, non-exempt employees must receive 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Tennessee does not require daily overtime (for example, time-and-a-half after eight hours in a day), unlike a few states that do. The 40-hour weekly threshold from the federal rule is the standard that applies.

How to Enforce Your Rights

Because Tennessee wage protections come from federal law, enforcement runs primarily through the federal system:

• File with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. This federal agency investigates unpaid minimum wage, unpaid overtime, and improper tip-credit or tip-pooling practices under the FLSA. It has offices serving Tennessee.
• Keep your own records. Track hours worked, tips received, and pay received. If an employer paid the $2.13 tipped cash wage but your tips did not reach $7.25 per hour, the make-up pay you are owed is a documentable FLSA claim.
• Consider a private FLSA lawsuit. The FLSA allows employees to recover unpaid wages, and in many cases an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus attorney's fees. There is generally a two-year statute of limitations, extended to three years for willful violations, so act promptly.
• Contact the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development for guidance on Tennessee-specific wage payment rules. While the state has no minimum wage, it does regulate other parts of how and when wages must be paid.

Where to Verify the Current Rate

For YMYL accuracy, confirm figures before acting on them. The two authoritative sources are:

• U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division for the federal minimum wage, the tipped cash wage, the tip credit, and overtime rules that apply in Tennessee.
• Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development for any change in Tennessee state wage policy and for state wage-payment and wage-regulation questions.

As of 2026, the operative numbers for Tennessee are the federal $7.25 minimum wage and the $2.13 tipped cash wage with a $5.12 maximum tip credit. Because these are federal figures that can change if Congress acts, treat any printed rate as a starting point and verify the current number with the U.S. Department of Labor before relying on it.

Official Tennessee Sources

This page is based on Tennessee employment law. Rules and figures change — verify the current details directly with the official Tennessee sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.

• Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development — official Tennessee agency.
• How to Begin a Wage Claim - Tennessee Labor Standards Unit

Federal law and local ordinances may also apply. Federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act set a national floor, and your city or county may add protections (such as a higher local minimum wage or paid sick leave). Check both alongside Tennessee state law.