Land Clearing Contractors Health Insurance in Tennessee (2026)

Q: How much does a land clearing contractor make in Tennessee?

The BLS median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Tennessee is $49,070 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $38,020. The middle half earn $45,140 to $56,600, and the top 10% more than $67,850. BLS counts about 10,190 people doing this work for an employer in Tennessee. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Wage benchmark and the 2027 subsidy cliff

$49,070median annual wage, Land Clearing Contractors in Tennessee

307%of the federal poverty level

$63,8402027 subsidy cliff, single-person household

Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.

This occupation sits above the cliff in 4 of the 23 states reported and below it in the other 19, so the answer changes with the state.

What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators (SOC 47-2073) in Tennessee. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed land clearing contractor. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.

Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. State-level annual median wage (A_MEDIAN), detailed occupation. https://www.bls.gov/oes/. Retrieved 2026-08-03. Figures used unmodified; suppressed cells are omitted, not estimated.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. 91 FR 1797, 15 January 2026. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines. Retrieved 2026-09-27. The 2026 guidelines govern premium tax credit eligibility for plan year 2027 coverage. The 2027 guidelines apply to 2028 coverage.
Full dataset for all occupations and states: CSV · JSON (CC BY 4.0).

All 23 states

Benchmark premium and median wage for this occupation, ranked by premium.

#	State	Benchmark @40	Median wage	vs cliff
1	Maryland	$414	$60,620	below
2	Virginia	$455	$52,240	below
3	Indiana	$474	$72,370	above
4	Nevada	$497	$72,780	above
5	Ohio	$513	$62,410	below
6	Michigan	$523	$62,550	below
7	Colorado	$557	$61,570	below
8	South Carolina	$564	$47,480	below
9	Oklahoma	$604	$47,190	below
10	Wisconsin	$611	$72,650	above
11	Georgia	$615	$46,380	below
12	North Carolina	$638	$48,910	below
13	Utah	$640	$59,760	below
14	Alabama	$645	$46,870	below
15	Illinois	$646	$96,980	above
16	South Dakota	$655	$56,720	below
17	Texas	$661	$49,650	below
18	Mississippi	$662	$46,020	below
19	Kansas	$670	$50,600	below
20	Florida	$683	$48,780	below
21	Nebraska	$710	$57,240	below
22	Tennessee	$711	$49,070	below
23	Arkansas	$774	$45,170	below

Questions

How much does a land clearing contractor make in Tennessee?

The BLS median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Tennessee is $49,070 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $38,020. The middle half earn $45,140 to $56,600, and the top 10% more than $67,850. BLS counts about 10,190 people doing this work for an employer in Tennessee. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Does being a land clearing contractor change what health insurance costs in Tennessee?

No. Under the ACA carriers may not rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Premiums vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size, so the benchmark of $711 a month applies regardless of trade.

Do land clearing contractors qualify for a subsidy in Tennessee in 2026?

Premium tax credit eligibility depends on household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not occupation. For reference, the BLS median wage for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Tennessee is $49,070, which is below the 2027 cliff of $63,840 for a single-person household. Your own income and household size decide the answer.

What is the benchmark premium in Tennessee for 2026?

$711 a month for a 40-year-old, ranking 22 of 23 states published here. That is full price before any premium tax credit.

Where do these numbers come from?

Premiums come from the CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file and published state rate approvals. Wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Both are reproduced unmodified; the full wage dataset is downloadable as CSV or JSON.

Going deeper on Tennessee

This page compares states. For Tennessee specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — that is published on Coverage by County. To check whether a plan actually covers your hospital, see Plans By City.

← Land Clearing Contractors in all states · All trades · All occupations

How Tennessee compares with every other state →

Want this worked out for your ZIP?

Put your ZIP code in and a licensed agent will show you the carriers filing in your county, what the cheapest plan costs, and what you would actually pay after any help you qualify for. No cost, and you talk to a licensed agent — not a call center.

See what it costs where you live →

What changes for Land Clearing Contractors in Tennessee in 2027

Tennessee loses a carrier this cycle: Cigna is out of the ACA individual market from January 1, 2027, leaving 5 filing here. For Land Clearing Contractors that is a forced decision, and a better one made in November than in January.

Nobody can tell you your 2027 Tennessee premium yet. Filings nationally cluster around a 15% median increase, with the full spread running −1% to 54% — and until this state signs off, a specific local number is invention.

The window opens November 1, 2026, and December 15 is the date worth writing down — it is what secures January 1 cover in Tennessee and everywhere else. You will find later dates quoted; they stem from a 2025 rule that was vacated in June 2026 and is under appeal.

One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Tennessee. All 95 counties offer EPO plans only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as a land clearing contractor crosses county lines, weigh that above the premium.

Worth sorting before November

You already know you are changing plans — Cigna is leaving. The only real question is whether you pick the replacement or the marketplace picks it for you, and that is a much easier decision made now than in the second week of December.

Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:

Whether your current plan and carrier are still writing in your county for 2027
What your income estimate should realistically be — the number your credit is calculated from, and the one land clearing contractors most often get wrong
Whether the doctors you actually use are in the 2027 network, before you are locked in

Map my 2027 options →

Land Clearing Contractors Health Insurance in Tennessee