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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
51-6031 Sewing Machine Operators
Operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.
National estimates for Sewing Machine Operators
Industry profile for Sewing Machine Operators
Geographic profile for Sewing Machine Operators
National estimates for Sewing Machine Operators:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Sewing Machine Operators:
Employment (1) |
Employment RSE (3) |
Mean hourly wage |
Mean annual wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
116,220 |
1.6 % |
$ 14.85 |
$ 30,880 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Sewing Machine Operators:
Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50% (Median) |
75% |
90% |
Hourly Wage |
$ 10.72 |
$ 12.56 |
$ 14.27 |
$ 17.35 |
$ 18.47 |
Annual Wage (2) |
$ 22,290 |
$ 26,120 |
$ 29,690 |
$ 36,100 |
$ 38,420 |
Industry profile for Sewing Machine Operators:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Sewing Machine Operators are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Sewing Machine Operators, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Sewing Machine Operators:
Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing |
27,250 |
38.52 |
$ 14.08 |
$ 29,280 |
Other Textile Product Mills |
18,500 |
31.58 |
$ 14.90 |
$ 30,980 |
Textile Furnishings Mills |
8,110 |
18.91 |
$ 14.88 |
$ 30,960 |
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (3371 and 3372 only) |
7,500 |
2.26 |
$ 16.70 |
$ 34,740 |
Printing and Related Support Activities |
4,520 |
1.23 |
$ 15.26 |
$ 31,740 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Sewing Machine Operators:
Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing |
27,250 |
38.52 |
$ 14.08 |
$ 29,280 |
Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing |
3,400 |
33.21 |
$ 14.30 |
$ 29,740 |
Other Textile Product Mills |
18,500 |
31.58 |
$ 14.90 |
$ 30,980 |
Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing |
2,370 |
21.76 |
$ 14.85 |
$ 30,900 |
Textile Furnishings Mills |
8,110 |
18.91 |
$ 14.88 |
$ 30,960 |
Top paying industries for Sewing Machine Operators:
Geographic profile for Sewing Machine Operators:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Sewing Machine Operators are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Sewing Machine Operators, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Sewing Machine Operators:
State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
California |
15,220 |
0.92 |
1.12 |
$ 15.99 |
$ 33,270 |
North Carolina |
8,320 |
1.88 |
2.28 |
$ 14.95 |
$ 31,100 |
Texas |
7,790 |
0.64 |
0.77 |
$ 13.00 |
$ 27,050 |
Florida |
7,060 |
0.82 |
0.99 |
$ 13.46 |
$ 28,000 |
New York |
5,140 |
0.59 |
0.72 |
$ 16.89 |
$ 35,120 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Sewing Machine Operators:
State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
Mississippi |
3,500 |
3.18 |
3.85 |
$ 14.43 |
$ 30,020 |
North Carolina |
8,320 |
1.88 |
2.28 |
$ 14.95 |
$ 31,100 |
Kentucky |
2,910 |
1.58 |
1.92 |
$ 12.73 |
$ 26,470 |
Tennessee |
4,690 |
1.57 |
1.90 |
$ 12.90 |
$ 26,840 |
Alabama |
2,680 |
1.39 |
1.68 |
$ 11.89 |
$ 24,720 |
Top paying states for Sewing Machine Operators:
State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
Alaska |
40 |
0.12 |
0.15 |
$ 20.92 |
$ 43,510 |
District of Columbia |
30 |
0.05 |
0.06 |
$ 19.33 |
$ 40,210 |
Connecticut |
750 |
0.48 |
0.58 |
$ 18.03 |
$ 37,510 |
Colorado |
1,340 |
0.51 |
0.62 |
$ 17.97 |
$ 37,370 |
Washington |
1,980 |
0.62 |
0.75 |
$ 17.61 |
$ 36,620 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Sewing Machine Operators:
Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
11,290 |
1.97 |
2.39 |
$ 15.75 |
$ 32,760 |
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
5,620 |
0.65 |
0.78 |
$ 16.73 |
$ 34,800 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
3,330 |
1.36 |
1.65 |
$ 12.75 |
$ 26,510 |
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,190 |
0.75 |
0.91 |
$ 15.64 |
$ 32,530 |
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,650 |
0.74 |
0.90 |
$ 13.84 |
$ 28,790 |
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC |
2,050 |
13.96 |
16.92 |
$ 17.69 |
$ 36,800 |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
1,990 |
0.77 |
0.93 |
$ 13.94 |
$ 28,990 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
1,690 |
0.64 |
0.77 |
$ 15.19 |
$ 31,600 |
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
1,610 |
0.56 |
0.68 |
$ 12.70 |
$ 26,410 |
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
1,530 |
0.72 |
0.88 |
$ 15.75 |
$ 32,750 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Sewing Machine Operators:
Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC |
2,050 |
13.96 |
16.92 |
$ 17.69 |
$ 36,800 |
Dalton, GA |
720 |
11.53 |
13.97 |
$ 13.70 |
$ 28,490 |
New Bedford, MA |
330 |
5.28 |
6.40 |
$ 15.86 |
$ 32,980 |
Elkhart-Goshen, IN |
680 |
5.12 |
6.20 |
$ 16.02 |
$ 33,310 |
Cleveland, TN |
220 |
4.91 |
5.96 |
$ 11.21 |
$ 23,320 |
Greensboro-High Point, NC |
1,510 |
4.42 |
5.36 |
$ 14.80 |
$ 30,790 |
Spartanburg, SC |
670 |
4.31 |
5.22 |
$ 16.64 |
$ 34,620 |
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI |
340 |
3.76 |
4.56 |
$ 16.01 |
$ 33,310 |
Clarksville, TN-KY |
320 |
3.62 |
4.39 |
$ 14.22 |
$ 29,580 |
Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL |
130 |
3.02 |
3.67 |
$ 12.03 |
$ 25,030 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Sewing Machine Operators:
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