Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $23K, rent takes 198.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $3,405/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $500/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers typically earn — is $22K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,310/month.

Local pay runs 44% below the national median — $23K here vs. $42K nationally.

Puerto Rico pays $23K median vs. the U.S. average of $42K — that’s -44%.

The median is $23,190 a year, that works out to about $11 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $21,840, and experienced tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers can clear $23,190. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $1,716/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $3,405/month, which eats 198.4% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Puerto Rico has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers salary is worth about $23,190 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.