Sewing Machine Operators in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,723
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$5,917
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,485
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$35,640
Kept after tax
$29,723
Worth in national money
$30,485
State rank
35
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for sewing machine operators is on the low side in Pennsylvania. The middle earner gets $35,640. That is 35 of 50 states, and about 2.81% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 492 occupations Pennsylvania publishes, sewing machine operators lands at 455. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $35,640, take-home of $29,723 is worth roughly $30,485 in national money. The average comes to $36,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For sewing machine operators, Pennsylvania sits in the lower band at $35,640, ranking 35 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 2.81%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Pennsylvania, this work ranks 455 of 492 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for sewing machine operators, whose median is $35,640, the adjusted figure of $30,485 differs little from $29,723 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $36,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Sewing Machine Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,640 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,510 |
| This salary | $35,640 |
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 Pennsylvania | $29,723 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,817 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,228 |
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 | $34,278 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,485 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 Pennsylvania earn under $35,640 and half over. The published range runs $28,340 at the tenth percentile to $45,510 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $29,723 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $35,640. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 455 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,485 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 455.
- Figures are distribution medians for sewing machine operators in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,340 to $45,510; 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.
- Retained pay of $29,723, from $35,640, assumes a single Pennsylvania filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 455 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 35 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,485, worked from $35,640, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 455 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,340 at the bottom tenth to $45,510 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $30,485 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $29,723.
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 ($28,340 to $45,510) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $30,485 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 $29,723 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.