Tennessee Apprenticeship Programs
As of September 2026, Tennessee fields 13,000 active apprentices across 530 registered programs, a mid-sized system with 54.2% completion.
- Active apprentices
- 13,000
- National rank
- #22 / 51
- Completion rate
- 54.2%
- Completion wage
- $27
Tennessee ranks #22 of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 1.5% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 54.2% completion rate sits 4 pts below the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 77% - from $15 to $27 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction TE · Tennessee
Tennessee registered-apprenticeship filing: 13,000 active apprentices (rank 22/51), 530 programs, 54.2% completion.
- BOOK-MID 13,000
- RANK-MID #22
- PROG-MID 530
- COMP-MID 54.2%
- WAGE-MID +77%
- SHARE-SMALL 1.5%
- NEW-FY 3,400
Nearest enrollment peer: Oregon (500 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: fastest growing occupations 2034
Where Tennessee sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction with Tennessee marked mid-field. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
Tennessee vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
13,000 22nd of 51 higher than 29 of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-09-25
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading Tennessee's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: wage lift
The standout metric here is a flat wage arc: 77% growth from start to completion, less than 100% of states manage.
Below-average completion
Completion trails at 54.2%, 4 points under the national 58.2%. Whatever intake achieves, attrition gives part of it back.
Where the scale sits
13,000 active apprentices rank 22 of 51 nationally, 1.5% of all registered enrollment.
Middle-of-the-road program size
530 registered programs at 24.5 apprentices per program lands in the middle tercile of states; program structure is not what distinguishes this system.
Steady intake
A 26.2% intake ratio (3,400 new apprentices this fiscal year) keeps Tennessee in the middle tercile for pipeline speed.
Tennessee's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Plumber 27%
- Carpenter 28%
- HVAC Mechanic -
- Pipefitter -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does Tennessee have?
Tennessee reports about 13,000 active registered apprentices in 530 programs, ranking 22 of 51 jurisdictions.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in Tennessee?
54.2%, which trails the 58.2% national average by 4 points.
How much do apprentices earn in Tennessee?
Apprentices start near $15.25/hour and finish near $27.00. The 77% progression is flatter than in most states.
What are the top apprenticeship trades in Tennessee?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for Tennessee are Electrician, Plumber, HVAC Mechanic, Pipefitter, Carpenter — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
How does Tennessee compare with neighboring systems?
On the dataset's own axes: rank 22 of 51 by enrollment, 54.2% completion, 77% wage progression. The comparison links below open the states adjacent in rank.
Where this leaves you
Use Tennessee's apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Weigh an apprenticeship path against a college degree with real wage and growth numbers. Apprenticeships vs college
- Check wage and AI exposure for a specific trade in the full occupation directory. Browse all occupations
- Through 2034, these are the occupations projected to add the most jobs. Fastest-growing occupations
U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship data is the source here; enrollment and completion both vary by program and year.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).