Sewing Machine Operators in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,221
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$6,449
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,773
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$38,670
Kept after tax
$32,221
Worth in national money
$31,773
State rank
15
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Rhode Island is one of the better-paying states for sewing machine operators. The middle earner takes $38,670, which ranks 15 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 5.45% above the national middle.
- Within Rhode Island this is lower-paid work. Of 452 occupations the state publishes figures for, sewing machine operators ranks 396. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $38,670, take-home of $32,221 is worth roughly $31,773 in national money. The average comes to $40,840, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Rhode Island ranks 15 of 50 states publishing a median for sewing machine operators, at $38,670 — about 5.45% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation Rhode Island reports, sewing machine operators ranks 396 of 452, 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.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for sewing machine operators, whose median is $38,670, the adjusted figure of $31,773 differs little from $32,221 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $40,840 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 | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,180 |
| This salary | $38,670 |
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 Rhode Island | $32,221 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,251 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,445 |
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 | $37,388 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,957 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Rhode Island earn less than $38,670. The published range is $31,200 up to $51,180, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Rhode Island's $32,221, worked from $38,670. 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 396 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,773 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 396.
- Reported values are medians; for sewing machine operators in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $51,180. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Rhode Island take-home of $32,221, on $38,670 for work ranking 396 of 452 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 396 of 452 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,773, worked from $38,670, 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 Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 396 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $40,840, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,200 at the tenth percentile, $51,180 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Rhode Island run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $31,773 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Rhode Island's own levy, $32,221 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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Rhode Island is $40,840. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $51,180) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $31,773 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $32,221 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.