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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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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:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Support Activities for Air Transportation (8) (8) $ 24.37 $ 50,680
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 100 (7) $ 21.21 $ 44,110
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 40 (7) $ 21.12 $ 43,920
Management of Companies and Enterprises 260 0.01 $ 18.99 $ 39,490
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 40 0.01 $ 18.77 $ 39,040

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.



Map of employment of sewing machine operators by state, May 2021


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


Map of location quotient of sewing machine operators by state, May 2021


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


Map of annual mean wages of sewing machine operators by state, May 2021


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



Map of employment of sewing machine operators by area, May 2021


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


Map of location quotient of sewing machine operators by area, May 2021


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


Map of annual mean wages of sewing machine operators by area, May 2021


Top paying metropolitan areas for Sewing Machine Operators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Appleton, WI 130 1.08 1.31 $ 20.70 $ 43,060
Glens Falls, NY 40 0.86 1.04 $ 20.32 $ 42,270
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 180 0.48 0.58 $ 19.55 $ 40,660
Boulder, CO 150 0.83 1.01 $ 19.20 $ 39,930
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 200