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Role hub · Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers

Tailor: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of tailors earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$41,640
Hourly
$20.02
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Tailors design, make, alter, repair, or fit garments. The median pay is $41,640 a year ($20.02 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (58% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$41,640
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
13,920
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 1-2 of 5
very little to some preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
58% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers (O*NET-SOC 51-6052.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Key facts

Tailors at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers” in the United States earned a median annual wage of $41,640 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry-level education for workers in the BLS occupation “Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers” in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of workers in the BLS occupation “Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers” in the United States to decline 8.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,700 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 13,920 people were employed in the BLS occupation “Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers” in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Tailors

How to becomeTailor how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeTailor resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What tailors do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
  2. Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
  3. Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
  4. Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
  5. Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
  6. Fit and study garments on customers to determine required alterations.
  7. Trim excess material, using scissors.
  8. Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all tailor jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, and jewelry retailers13.9% of all jobs in this occupation · -6.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $45,680
  2. Personal and laundry services6.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $40,430
  3. Repair and maintenance5.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $41,880
  4. Apparel manufacturing4.1% of all jobs in this occupation · -34.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $44,960
  5. Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods2.7% of all jobs in this occupation · -1.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $41,460
  6. General merchandise retailers2.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $55,980

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Time ManagementcoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreCritical ThinkingSocial PerceptivenessJudgment and Decision MakingMonitoringCoordinationService Orientation

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Production and Processing, Administration and Management, Economics and Accounting.

Tools and technology

Software tailors use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • ArbelSoft TailorMaxPoint of sale POS software
  • Garment design softwareComputer aided design CAD software
  • Inventory tracking softwareInventory management software
  • Google DocsWord processing softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • Bookkeeping softwareAccounting software
  • Tailor MasterCustomer relationship management CRM software

Also called: Alterations Expert, Alterations Sewer, Bridal Designer, Clothing Pattern Designer, Custom Dressmaker, Custom Sewer.

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Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.