Sewing Machine Operators in Nebraska

Machined metal parts and a CNC machine in a clean manufacturing workshop.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$30,975

after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax

Tax takes

$6,085

16.4% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$34,274

Nebraska costs less than average

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

$37,060

Kept after tax

$30,975

Worth in national money

$34,274

State rank

25

of 50 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Nebraska sits in the middle of the pack for sewing machine operators. The median is $37,060, ranking 25 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
  • Measured against other jobs in Nebraska, this one sits low: 435 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
  • Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,060 you keep $30,975, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,274 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,440, because the best-paid pull it up.
  • Nebraska occupies the middle band for sewing machine operators: a median of $37,060, ranking 25 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
  • Sewing machine operators occupies position 435 of 488 in Nebraska's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
  • After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for sewing machine operators on $37,060 is $30,975. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,274 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $37,440 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.

Compare this career across states

Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.

Pay band: Sewing Machine Operators

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$29,610
Half earn under$37,060
Top tenth earn over$44,450
This salary$37,060

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

Compare with
+$983take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Nebraska$30,975
Take-home in Texas$31,958
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$1,387

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

Moving to
$0$38,737
$38,737in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$35,837
Raise you would need+$1,677
Prices in Texas97 vs 90

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • Half the people doing this work in Nebraska earn less than $37,060. The published range is $29,610 up to $44,450, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
  • In Nebraska the take-home figure of $30,975, from $37,060, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 435 of 488 occupations here.
  • The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,274 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 435.
  • Reported values are medians; for sewing machine operators in Nebraska the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,610 to $44,450. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
  • Take-home for Nebraska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,975 from $37,060. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 435 of 488 locally.
  • Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,274, worked from $37,060, 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 Nebraska address, on work sitting at 435 of 488 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

The range here is narrow. From $29,610 at the bottom tenth to $44,450 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $34,274.

Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?

Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Nebraska adds its own income tax on top — which is why $30,975 of this wage survives to your account.

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 ($29,610 to $44,450) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.

What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?

Nebraska'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 $34,274 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 $30,975 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.