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HVAC & Pipefitter Salary in Knoxville

Metro area wage data from the BLS OEWS program (May 2025), with Davis-Bacon journey-level scale from UA Local 102, effective May 2025.

The federal wage data on this page covers heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers, work that is largely service, maintenance, and residential installation. The union scale shown is journeyman pipefitter, which covers refrigerant, chilled water, and hydronic piping on commercial construction and falls under a different federal occupation code than the wage data above. Duct fabrication and installation is sheet metal work, represented by a separate union called SMART (the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers), and is not reflected in either figure.

How to become an HVAC technician or pipefitter →

Figures come from public sources and may not match the current contract; confirm with the local before making decisions.

UA Local 102 is the union local for pipefitters in Knoxville; its hall is on North Broadway. The rate shown is the journeyman pipefitter classification; in Knox County it carries no separate HVAC scope, and no negotiated plumber rate is published to compare it with.

UA Local 102 journeyman pipefitter Journey-Level Rate

Journey-Level Hourly
$36.00
Effective May 2025
Base wage: $36.00/hr
Benefit contribution: $17.02/hr
Total package: $53.02/hr
Journey-Level Annual
$74,880
Based on 2,080 hrs / year
vs. BLS Area Median
+$18,100
Union scale vs. all-worker median

Union scale reflects the UA Local 102 journeyman pipefitter journey-level rate from the applicable Davis-Bacon wage determination. The BLS area median reflects all HVAC and refrigeration mechanics across all employment types and experience levels.

Training CenterUA Local 102
Address1216 N Broadway, Knoxville, TN 37917
Phone(865) 523-7413
Websiteualocal102.org
Minimum ScoreNot published

Applying to UA Local 102?

Check with UA Local 102 for its current application requirements, including any aptitude test.

What to expect →

All HVAC and refrigeration mechanics, union and non-union, all experience levels

Median Annual
$56,780
-$4,230 vs. national
Median Hourly
$27.30
vs. Tennessee
+$5,672
vs. state average
Total Employed
1,470
In this area

All HVAC and refrigeration mechanics, union and non-union, all experience levels. Wage figures only, employer-paid benefits, pension contributions, and health and welfare are not included.

Annual Median Wage$56,780
Annual Mean Wage$57,930
Hourly Median Wage$27.30
Hourly Mean Wage$27.85
Total Employed1,470
Area TypeMetropolitan Area
All pre-apprenticeship options →

No other Tennessee metro has a published rate yet. These are the nearest metros in other states, within 300 miles, nearest first. Journey-level rates are sourced from Davis-Bacon wage determinations, state prevailing wage determinations, or, where a local publishes one directly, its own collective bargaining agreement.

Union rates in every metro we cover →

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 49-9021). How we build these figures →