Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
Median $34,890
Occupation · SOC 51-6031
Sewing Machine Operators: pay and where the jobs are
What sewing machine operators earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$36,670 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $37,600
- Median hourly wage
- $17.63
- Mean hourly wage
- $18.08
- Employment
- 104,880
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 51-6031.
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How much do sewing machine operators make?
The median annual wage for sewing machine operators was $36,670 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $27,860 and the highest-paid 10% more than $47,840. As an hourly rate, the median is $17.63. About 104,880 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Nevada ($45,750), Alaska ($43,850) and Colorado ($43,840). Nevada also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for sewing machine operators looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $27,860 | $13.39 | $2,322 | $2,046 |
| 25th percentile | $31,960 | $15.37 | $2,663 | $2,322 |
| Median | $36,670 | $17.63 | $3,056 | $2,637 |
| 75th percentile | $42,830 | $20.59 | $3,569 | $3,049 |
| 90th percentile | $47,840 | $23.00 | $3,987 | $3,385 |
Sewing Machine Operators: pay by state
51 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$38,948 take-home in national prices
2
$37,835 take-home in national prices
3
$36,707 take-home in national prices
Where a median sewing machine operator paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 910 | $45,750 | $30,730 | $55,550 | $38,940 | $38,948 |
| Alaska | 40 | $43,850 | $34,750 | $64,850 | $37,194 | $36,337 |
| Colorado | 970 | $43,840 | $35,250 | $55,050 | $35,992 | $34,926 |
| Maine | 700 | $43,520 | $32,760 | $49,460 | $35,625 | $36,707 |
| Washington | 1,600 | $43,360 | $37,180 | $50,180 | $36,418 | $34,032 |
| Massachusetts | 1,540 | $42,910 | $35,580 | $53,990 | $34,535 | $32,655 |
| New Hampshire | 190 | $41,740 | $28,850 | $56,380 | $35,718 | $34,290 |
| Vermont | 220 | $40,850 | $29,140 | $51,630 | $34,068 | $34,779 |
| Wisconsin | 2,370 | $40,370 | $30,860 | $50,080 | $33,515 | $35,618 |
| Arizona | 1,420 | $40,210 | $34,690 | $47,310 | $33,877 | $33,649 |
| Oregon | 1,250 | $39,780 | $33,770 | $51,260 | $31,487 | $30,463 |
| Hawaii | 280 | $39,230 | $32,210 | $60,810 | $32,232 | $29,315 |
| South Dakota | 300 | $39,000 | $28,350 | $47,030 | $33,517 | $37,835 |
| Minnesota | 1,890 | $38,930 | $33,940 | $51,910 | $32,025 | $32,473 |
| Rhode Island | 270 | $38,670 | $31,200 | $51,180 | $31,993 | $31,280 |
| New York | 6,130 | $38,480 | $33,790 | $55,290 | $31,420 | $29,114 |
| Indiana | 3,400 | $38,440 | $30,060 | $51,180 | $31,962 | $34,247 |
| South Carolina | 2,460 | $38,250 | $26,690 | $47,210 | $32,451 | $34,615 |
| California | 13,240 | $37,940 | $34,950 | $49,040 | $31,671 | $28,605 |
| Connecticut | 480 | $37,780 | $34,010 | $47,260 | $31,212 | $30,125 |
| Delaware | 60 | $37,690 | $31,200 | $47,330 | $30,898 | $30,958 |
| Mississippi | 2,270 | $37,600 | $26,840 | $44,220 | $31,620 | $36,364 |
| Michigan | 3,210 | $37,490 | $30,200 | $46,790 | $30,961 | $32,178 |
| Idaho | 410 | $37,160 | $28,790 | $49,280 | $31,177 | $32,648 |
| Nebraska | 300 | $37,060 | $29,610 | $44,450 | $31,151 | $34,573 |
| Montana | 190 | $36,740 | $24,290 | $50,370 | $30,731 | $32,469 |
| Wyoming | 110 | $36,510 | $30,440 | $46,610 | $31,516 | $34,001 |
| Illinois | 4,060 | $36,220 | $33,060 | $46,720 | $29,635 | $29,647 |
| New Jersey | 2,750 | $36,130 | $32,220 | $46,170 | $30,358 | $27,901 |
| Iowa | 590 | $35,870 | $28,890 | $47,270 | $30,290 | $34,514 |
| Maryland | 1,390 | $35,860 | $31,200 | $55,390 | $29,656 | $28,255 |
| Virginia | 2,010 | $35,790 | $27,470 | $46,760 | $29,693 | $29,369 |
| Ohio | 4,100 | $35,760 | $29,530 | $43,890 | $30,380 | $32,746 |
| North Dakota | 110 | $35,700 | $27,950 | $55,080 | $30,865 | $34,696 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,390 | $35,640 | $28,340 | $45,510 | $29,698 | $30,437 |
| Arkansas | 860 | $35,630 | $27,810 | $45,660 | $29,978 | $34,482 |
| Missouri | 2,320 | $35,610 | $29,550 | $43,240 | $30,056 | $33,095 |
| Utah | 1,020 | $35,550 | $29,870 | $45,590 | $29,903 | $30,247 |
| Kansas | 650 | $35,360 | $28,380 | $46,070 | $29,417 | $32,661 |
| North Carolina | 8,290 | $35,160 | $26,560 | $48,570 | $29,537 | $31,314 |
| New Mexico | 220 | $34,840 | $28,620 | $42,240 | $29,643 | $32,147 |
| Georgia | 3,420 | $34,790 | $26,950 | $42,100 | $29,146 | $30,268 |
| Tennessee | 3,300 | $34,220 | $19,130 | $46,800 | $29,676 | $32,302 |
| Oklahoma | 580 | $33,340 | $23,850 | $44,350 | $28,014 | $31,891 |
| Florida | 6,790 | $33,270 | $27,360 | $46,230 | $28,912 | $27,958 |
| Texas | 6,950 | $31,000 | $21,420 | $44,290 | $27,089 | $27,910 |
| Alabama | 2,300 | $30,830 | $23,830 | $41,330 | $25,739 | $28,978 |
| Louisiana | 610 | $29,600 | $21,180 | $38,100 | $25,462 | $28,866 |
| Kentucky | 2,750 | $29,460 | $22,350 | $39,880 | $24,938 | $27,660 |
| West Virginia | 180 | $29,320 | $21,960 | $44,780 | $25,033 | $27,971 |
| Puerto Rico | 5,410 | $21,840 | $21,840 | $22,550 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 51-6031. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.