Sewing Machine Operators in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,922
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$6,238
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,822
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$37,160
Kept after tax
$30,922
Worth in national money
$33,822
State rank
24
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Idaho is 24 of 50 states for sewing machine operators, with a middle wage of $37,160. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Idaho this is lower-paid work. Of 476 occupations the state publishes figures for, sewing machine operators ranks 421. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,160 you keep $30,922 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $33,822 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $38,110, since top earners drag the number up.
- Idaho ranks 24 of 50 for sewing machine operators at $37,160. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Idaho reports, sewing machine operators ranks 421 of 476, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in Idaho is $30,922 after the full tax stack, from $37,160. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $33,822 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $38,110 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Sewing Machine Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,280 |
| This salary | $37,160 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Idaho | $30,922 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,038 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$853 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $35,771 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,031 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of sewing machine operators in Idaho earn under $37,160 and half over. The published range runs $28,790 at the tenth percentile to $49,280 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Idaho's $30,922, worked from $37,160. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 421 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,822 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 421.
- Figures are distribution medians for sewing machine operators in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,790 to $49,280; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Idaho take-home of $30,922, on $37,160 for work ranking 421 of 476 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 421 of 476 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,822, worked from $37,160, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Idaho address, on work sitting at 421 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,790 and the top tenth $49,280, so most people doing this work in Idaho sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Idaho sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $33,822 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Idaho's own levy, $30,922 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,790 to $49,280) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $33,822 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $30,922 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.