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Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers: Career Overview
Design, make, alter, repair, or fit garments.
What Do Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers Do?
The core tasks performed by tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers include:
- 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.
- Fit and study garments on customers to determine required alterations.
- Trim excess material, using scissors.
- Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Effective tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Key Skills
The abilities that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Alteration Tailor
- Alterations Associate
- Alterations Expert
- Alterations Sewer
- Alterations Specialist
- Alterations Tailor
- Alterations and Tailor Shop Fitter
- Alterations and Tailor Shop Sewer
Employment and Demand
There are roughly 860,064 tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to decline by -3.3% over the projection horizon.
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $40,404 |
| Hourly median | $19.43 |
| 10th percentile | $26,918 |
| 25th percentile | $33,661 |
| 75th percentile | $47,147 |
| 90th percentile | $53,890 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $57,380 |
| New York | $57,280 |
| Maryland | $52,000 |
| Washington | $51,010 |
| Oklahoma | $50,710 |
| Pennsylvania | $49,250 |
| Connecticut | $47,360 |
| Hawaii | $46,990 |
| Nevada | $46,020 |
| Massachusetts | $45,770 |
| Oregon | $45,690 |
| New Jersey | $45,510 |
| California | $45,390 |
| New Hampshire | $44,970 |
| Arizona | $44,890 |
| New Mexico | $43,600 |
| Minnesota | $43,490 |
| Delaware | $43,010 |
| Vermont | $41,600 |
| Utah | $40,570 |
| Colorado | $39,310 |
| Indiana | $39,040 |
| Wisconsin | $38,640 |
| Mississippi | $38,480 |
| Illinois | $38,340 |
| Alabama | $38,030 |
| Florida | $37,590 |
| Ohio | $37,550 |
| Kentucky | $37,400 |
| Iowa | $36,810 |
| Montana | $36,030 |
| Rhode Island | $35,920 |
| Texas | $35,600 |
| North Carolina | $35,490 |
| Missouri | $35,190 |
| Virginia | $35,110 |
| West Virginia | $35,060 |
| Michigan | $34,830 |
| Tennessee | $34,510 |
| South Carolina | $34,100 |
| Georgia | $32,720 |
| Arkansas | $31,750 |
| Louisiana | $29,910 |
| Nebraska | $29,310 |
| Idaho | $28,080 |
| Kansas | $26,410 |
| Puerto Rico | $22,460 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Earnings for tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Atlantic | $52,490 | 18.5% | 1.29 |
| New England | $46,000 | 4.5% | 1.19 |
| Far Western US | $45,729 | 16.8% | 1.08 |
| Plains States | $38,197 | 7.8% | 1.47 |
| Great Lakes | $37,278 | 10.3% | 0.75 |
| Southwest | $36,692 | 12.9% | 1.20 |
| Rocky Mountains | $36,666 | 2.1% | 1.17 |
| Southeast | $35,583 | 26.7% | 1.23 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $60,320 | 1,630 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $52,570 | 40 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $52,530 | 70 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $52,000 | 200 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | TX | $51,120 | 220 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $51,010 | |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $50,350 | 230 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $49,770 | 70 |
Industry Breakdown
The bulk of tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade | 6,070 | $44,200 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 5,210 | $37,410 |
| Manufacturing | 2,110 | $43,170 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1,010 | $35,600 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 290 | $44,290 |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 280 | $40,040 |
| Information | 260 | $103,130 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 230 | $44,990 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Tools and Technology
- Word processing software: Google Docs (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
Daily working conditions for tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Time Pressure
- Freedom to Make Decisions
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
Getting Started in This Career
Typical tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Fashion Designers (Primary-Long)
- Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Long)
- Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic (Supplemental)
- Print Binding and Finishing Workers (Supplemental)
- Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers (Supplemental)
- Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials (Primary-Short)
- Sewing Machine Operators (Primary-Short)
- Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers (Primary-Short)
References
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 51-6052.00 (Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers).
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