Diesel mechanic salary in Cleveland, TN
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Diesel mechanics in the Cleveland, TN area earn a median of $49,050 a year, or $23.58 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $65,430 a year. Across all of Tennessee, the median is $59,190, so Cleveland pays 17% less than the state as a whole.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $18.64/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 90
- After cost of living
- $55,690
- Median hourly pay
- $23.58/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −21%
- vs Tennessee median
- −17%
- Mean (average) pay
- $53,600 a year · $25.77 an hour
Pay by percentile
What diesel mechanics in Cleveland, TN earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.64 | $38,760 |
| 25th percentile | $22.00 | $45,760 |
| Median (50th) | $23.58 | $49,050 |
| 75th percentile | $28.30 | $58,870 |
| 90th percentile | $31.46 | $65,430 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
How Cleveland, TN compares
- Cleveland has the lowest diesel mechanic median of the 10 Tennessee metro areas with published pay.
- Diesel mechanics are more concentrated in the Cleveland area than nationally: 2.1 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.1 times the U.S. share.
Other Tennessee metro areas
Other trades in Cleveland, TN
Questions
- Do diesel mechanics make more in Cleveland or Memphis?
- Memphis pays more: the median is $49,050 in Cleveland and $61,360 in Memphis, a 20% difference.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-3031 (Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists), area code 17420 (Cleveland, TN). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed diesel mechanics and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (88.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures