Explore national salary, projected growth, education requirements, and career opportunities across the United States.
A concise view of this occupation’s national scale, compensation, and projected demand.
National median annual wage for this occupation.
Estimated jobs currently supported nationwide.
Projected employment change through 2034.
Estimated openings created each year.
The typical education, prior experience, and on-the-job training associated with entry into this career.
No formal educational credential
None
Moderate-term on-the-job training
These are the highest-rated capabilities associated with success in this occupation. Scores are derived from occupational skill analysis and are measured on a 100-point scale.
Based on skills, knowledge, and work activities, these occupations are the closest match to your current career.
Explore the states and metropolitan areas offering the strongest combination of salary, employment, demand, and long-term opportunity.
Discover metro markets where compensation, hiring demand, and long-term momentum align.
Understand the salary, outlook, education, and geographic opportunities shaping this career.
Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers work in a specialized craft career that combines fine motor abilities, creativity and innovation, and strong attention to detail. National employment stands at 39,000, with about 5,000 openings each year, indicating ongoing movement and hiring in the field despite a projected employment decline of -4.5%. Typical work in this occupation can draw on customer service, speaking and listening, and problem solving and decision making, reflecting the interaction with clients and the need to deliver precise results. Physical strength and stamina, mechanical skills, and mathematics are also important parts of the skill profile. While national median pay is $40,860, earnings vary by state and metro, with some areas offering substantially higher median salaries. This occupation can appeal to people who enjoy detailed, hands-on work and want to build expertise based on skill rather than formal educational credentials, while being mindful of the overall declining employment trend.
Nationally, tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers earn a median annual salary of $40,860. Pay can be higher in certain states and metro areas. Among the top states by opportunity score, New York has a median salary of $60,210, Washington reaches $54,300, Colorado $51,110, Virginia $46,060, and California $44,360. At the metro level, median salaries are even higher in several areas: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ reports $63,050, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $59,020, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $55,000. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA has a median of $49,450, and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH stands at $50,470. These figures show that earnings for this occupation can differ significantly by location, with some metros and states offering pay well above the national median, which may be an important consideration when evaluating where to work.
This occupation has national employment of 39,000 and a projected employment growth rate of -4.5%. Despite the projected decline, there are an estimated 5,000 annual openings. This combination indicates that, even as overall employment is expected to shrink, there is still ongoing demand driven by turnover, retirements, and other forms of job movement. The -4.5% growth projection is consistent across the listed top states and metro areas, so the declining trend is broad-based rather than limited to one region. For job seekers, this means opportunities continue to exist, but competition for roles may be influenced by the shrinking employment base. People considering this field may want to think about how to maintain strong skills in areas such as fine motor work, creativity, customer service, and problem solving to stay competitive within a labor market that is not expanding overall.
Location makes a notable difference for tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers. Among states with the highest CareerGPS opportunity scores, California leads with an opportunity score of 67.38, a median salary of $44,360, and employment of 2,180. New York follows closely with an opportunity score of 65.78, a higher median salary of $60,210, and employment of 1,160. Colorado, Washington, and Virginia show opportunity scores between about 55 and 57, with median salaries from $46,060 to $54,300 and smaller employment levels of 100 to 300. At the metro level, differences are even clearer. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ both have high opportunity scores above 77, with median salaries of $59,020 and $63,050, respectively. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH also combine solid opportunity scores in the 60s with median salaries around $49,450 to $55,000, illustrating that some metros offer higher pay and strong opportunity metrics.
The typical education requirement for tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers is no formal educational credential. This means access to the field is not restricted by traditional degree requirements, and advancement can be shaped heavily by skills and practical ability. The skill profile emphasizes fine motor capabilities, creativity and innovation, mechanical skills, and being detail oriented, all of which support the hands-on, precision nature of the work. Customer service, speaking and listening, and problem solving and decision making are also vital, reflecting the importance of working effectively with others and resolving issues. Physical strength and stamina contribute to handling the physical aspects of the job, while mathematics supports tasks that require numerical accuracy. Together, these skills suggest a path where individuals can focus on developing craft, accuracy, and people skills to build a career, rather than relying on formal educational milestones.
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