Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

51-6031 Sewing Machine Operators

Occupational Description:
Operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2026

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Northwest Minnesota	200	25	$19.26/hr	$15.82/hr	$17.47/hr	$18.68/hr	$21.36/hr	$23.31/hr

Leading Industries for Sewing Machine Operators

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Manufacturing	1,410	$18.84/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	290	$23.76/hr
Professional and Business Services	80	$17.93/hr
Leisure and Hospitality	N/A	N/A
Other Services	100	$19.15/hr
Public Administration	N/A	N/A

Other Regional Data for Sewing Machine Operators

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Northeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
St Cloud MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Grand Forks ND-MN MSA	20	$17.52/hr	N/A
Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA	20	$18.66/hr	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	60	$18.10/hr	N/A
Fargo ND-MN MSA	70	$17.57/hr	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	100	$19.11/hr	-13.5%
Southwest Balance of State	100	$19.11/hr	N/A
Southeast Balance of State	110	$17.46/hr	N/A
Southeast Minnesota	120	$17.86/hr	-3.6%
Duluth MN-WI MSA	160	$18.08/hr	N/A
Northeast Minnesota	160	$18.06/hr	-6.3%
Northwest Balance of State	180	$18.68/hr	N/A
Northwest Minnesota	200	$18.68/hr	-9.0%
Central Minnesota	220	$19.11/hr	-5.2%
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	1,040	$20.80/hr	-1.5%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	1,130	$20.80/hr	N/A
Minnesota	1,890	$19.15/hr	-4.1%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Helpers--Production Workers	2,570	$21.99/hr	-6.3%
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand	40	$22.90/hr	-21.7%
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	50	$22.83/hr	7.4%
Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators	1,840	$29.40/hr	-10.9%
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	54,480	$22.74/hr	6.7%
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic	900	$22.52/hr	5.7%
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood	500	$25.24/hr	3.2%
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,960	$28.60/hr	-5.6%
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	9,270	$29.64/hr	6.1%
Machine Feeders and Offbearers	410	$23.94/hr	1.7%

Task for Sewing Machine Operators

Record quantities of materials processed.
Guide garments or garment parts under machine needles and presser feet to sew parts together.
Remove holding devices and finished items from machines.
Cut excess material or thread from finished products.
Repair or alter items by adding replacement parts or missing stitches.
Turn knobs, screws, and dials to adjust settings of machines, according to garment styles and equipment performance.
Perform equipment maintenance tasks such as replacing needles, sanding rough areas of needles, or cleaning and oiling sewing machines.
Inspect garments, and examine repair tags and markings on garments to locate defects or damage, and mark errors as necessary.
Place spools of thread, cord, or other materials on spindles, insert bobbins, and thread ends through machine guides and components.
Position items under needles, using marks on machines, clamps, templates, or cloth as guides.