Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers salary by state
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers is a professional role in the Production job family, focused on Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers work. Pay for this title reflects both its level and its scope; see our Title Level and Organization Responsibility guides for how WePayFairly defines them.
What Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewerss do
Typical education: High School Diploma
Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
Top skills:Time ManagementSpeakingCritical ThinkingActive ListeningSocial PerceptivenessMonitoring
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers salary by industry
Sectors 44 and 45 – Retail Trade
5,700 workers
$48,500
Other Services (except Public Administration)
3,820 workers
$42,500
Sectors 31, 32, and 33 – Manufacturing
1,740 workers
$45,500
Wholesale Trade
1,120 workers
$42,500
Accommodation and Food Services
270 workers
$51,500
Information
220 workers
$109,500
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
200 workers
$44,500
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
170 workers
$42,500
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
How this role compares
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers pays 15% below the average across 105 roles in the Production job family (family average $55,000).
