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Tennessee state highway rates, TN · Operating Engineer
Operating Engineer prevailing wage, Tennessee state highway rates
$33.81an hour, wage only · Large Crane Operator
Wage only; TN Prevailing Wage Commission sets no fringe
On Tennessee state highway, street and bridge projects, an operating engineer working as large crane operator must be paid at least $33.81 an hour in wages. TN Prevailing Wage Commission sets no fringe amount; fringe benefits and overtime aren't part of this rate.
TN Prevailing Wage Commission, TN-PWC-2026, effective January 1, 2026. Checked on October 25, 2026.
TN Prevailing Wage Commission lists 6 operating engineer rates for Tennessee state highway rates, from $20.74 to $33.81 an hour. See all of them.
Tennessee's Prevailing Wage Commission sets these 25 rates for state highway, street and bridge construction only, statewide since 2014, effective January 1 to December 31, 2026. Each is a straight-time wage with no fringe. Federal-aid highway jobs also carry the Davis-Bacon highway rates on each county's page.
- Tennessee's highway rate is a straight-time hourly wage only. The survey collects straight-time rates and excludes fringe benefits (Rule 0800-03-02-.08(3)); no fringe amount is set.
A wage rate with no fringe: $33.81
TN Prevailing Wage Commission's survey collects straight-time wages only, and fringe benefits aren't part of the rate. A federal-aid highway job also has the Davis-Bacon highway rate, which includes a fringe; see the county's page.
When does this rate change?
- A contract keeps the wage determination in its bid documents. Modifications published before bid opening apply to it, though one published less than 10 days before can be left out if the agency finds there isn't time to tell bidders (29 CFR 1.6(c)).
- DOL changes a WD by publishing a numbered modification on SAM.gov. This page reads the modification named in the Source line; the Tennessee change log lists what each one changed.
Dated rates for this classification
TN Prevailing Wage Commission prints more than one dated line for Large Crane Operator. The one in force on October 25, 2026 leads this page; scheduled lines take effect on their date.
| Effective | Rate | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2021 | $25.61 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2022 | $26.45 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2023 | $28.78 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2024 | $31.55 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2025 | $32.51 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2026 | $33.81 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2026 | $33.81 | In force |
Every operating engineer rate in Tennessee state highway rates
As TN Prevailing Wage Commission lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- Large Crane Operator$33.81
- Class "A" Operators$31.00
- Class "C" Operators$30.74
- Class "D" Operators$28.82
- Class "B" Operators$28.12
- Farm Tractor Operator (Power Broom)$20.74
| Classification | Base wage | Fringe benefits | Total rate | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class "A" Operators | $31.00 | none | $31.00 | TN-PWC-2026 |
| Class "B" Operators | $28.12 | none | $28.12 | TN-PWC-2026 |
| Class "C" Operators | $30.74 | none | $30.74 | TN-PWC-2026 |
| Class "D" Operators | $28.82 | none | $28.82 | TN-PWC-2026 |
| Farm Tractor Operator (Power Broom) | $20.74 | none | $20.74 | TN-PWC-2026 |
| Large Crane Operator | $33.81 | none | $33.81 | TN-PWC-2026 |
How Tennessee state highway rates compares
The main operating engineer rate in every county that has one, and how the pay splits here and nearby. All bars use the same scale.
Every county in Tennessee
Wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Tennessee state highway ratesbase $33.81$33.81
More from TN Prevailing Wage Commission on this rate
- TN Prevailing Wage Commission wage determination
- SAM.gov wage determinations
- Davis-Bacon determinations list journeyworker rates. Apprentices in a program registered with DOL or a recognized state agency can be paid the program's percentage of the rate, within its ratio; anyone else gets the full rate (29 CFR 5.5(a)(4)).
Are you being paid this rate?
Add your base pay to the fringe your employer pays for you, in cash or into plans, and compare the sum with the total. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division takes complaints: 1-866-487-9243, or dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints.
Source
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (TN Prevailing Wage Commission), wage determination TN-PWC-2026, effective January 1, 2026: www.tn.gov/workforce/employees/labor-laws/labor-laws-redirect/wages-breaks/prevailing-wage.html
We read every active Tennessee Davis-Bacon wage determination from SAM.gov's own data and check every number with a second, independent read of the same file. DOL prints no total; ours is base plus fringe. How we check · Download Tennessee state highway rates as CSV · Report an error