• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

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.

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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)
116,130	1.3 %	$ 16.83	$ 35,000	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Sewing Machine Operators:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 12.19	$ 14.27	$ 16.56	$ 18.43	$ 21.81
Annual Wage (2)	$ 25,360	$ 29,690	$ 34,440	$ 38,340	$ 45,360

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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	25,040	35.62	$ 15.94	$ 33,160
Other Textile Product Mills	17,960	29.98	$ 16.77	$ 34,890
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (3371 and 3372 only)	7,760	2.32	$ 19.65	$ 40,860
Textile Furnishings Mills	6,450	15.95	$ 16.71	$ 34,770
Printing and Related Support Activities	4,950	1.31	$ 16.77	$ 34,880

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	25,040	35.62	$ 15.94	$ 33,160
Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing	4,140	32.49	$ 15.71	$ 32,680
Other Textile Product Mills	17,960	29.98	$ 16.77	$ 34,890
Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing	1,840	16.80	$ 16.64	$ 34,610
Textile Furnishings Mills	6,450	15.95	$ 16.71	$ 34,770

Top paying industries for Sewing Machine Operators:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	90	(7)	$ 23.45	$ 48,770
Traveler Accommodation	230	0.01	$ 22.11	$ 45,980
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	30	(7)	$ 21.88	$ 45,510
Automotive Repair and Maintenance	210	0.02	$ 21.83	$ 45,410
Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing	50	0.03	$ 21.51	$ 44,740

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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	17,990	1.00	1.31	$ 18.00	$ 37,430
North Carolina	9,760	2.03	2.66	$ 16.83	$ 35,010
Texas	6,850	0.51	0.66	$ 14.44	$ 30,030
Florida	5,860	0.61	0.80	$ 15.62	$ 32,490
New York	5,830	0.62	0.81	$ 18.57	$ 38,630

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	3,390	2.94	3.85	$ 16.92	$ 35,200
North Carolina	9,760	2.03	2.66	$ 16.83	$ 35,010
Indiana	4,370	1.38	1.81	$ 18.00	$ 37,430
Kentucky	2,430	1.24	1.62	$ 13.33	$ 27,720
Alabama	2,520	1.23	1.61	$ 13.68	$ 28,450

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	50	0.15	0.19	$ 21.98	$ 45,720
District of Columbia	30	0.05	0.06	$ 21.62	$ 44,970
Washington	1,850	0.53	0.69	$ 19.57	$ 40,700
Colorado	1,090	0.39	0.50	$ 19.48	$ 40,530
Massachusetts	1,920	0.53	0.69	$ 19.09	$ 39,700

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	12,870	2.08	2.72	$ 17.73	$ 36,880
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	6,170	0.65	0.85	$ 18.51	$ 38,500
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	2,850	0.63	0.83	$ 17.62	$ 36,650
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	2,750	0.69	0.91	$ 15.36	$ 31,940
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	2,570	0.94	1.23	$ 15.24	$ 31,700
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	2,330	15.08	19.72	$ 20.48	$ 42,600
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	1,950	0.69	0.91	$ 16.32	$ 33,940
Greensboro-High Point, NC	1,830	5.14	6.72	$ 16.23	$ 33,750
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	1,530	0.54	0.70	$ 17.37	$ 36,120
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	1,450	1.10	1.44	$ 16.69	$ 34,710

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	2,330	15.08	19.72	$ 20.48	$ 42,600
Dalton, GA	560	8.61	11.26	$ 14.81	$ 30,800
New Bedford, MA	370	5.71	7.46	$ 17.32	$ 36,030
Elkhart-Goshen, IN	770	5.59	7.32	$ 18.67	$ 38,830
Greensboro-High Point, NC	1,830	5.14	6.72	$ 16.23	$ 33,750
Burlington, NC	220	3.35	4.38	$ 13.81	$ 28,720
Reno, NV	690	2.70	3.53	$ 19.46	$ 40,470
Owensboro, KY	140	2.68	3.50	$ 12.36	$ 25,700
Lewiston-Auburn, ME	120	2.59	3.39	$ 18.46	$ 38,400
Dothan, AL	150	2.53	3.30	$ 13.53	$ 28,150