Occupations · Production
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Press or shape articles by hand or machine.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 51-6021.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 97% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $34,980 | 2,260 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $38,730 | 1,980 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $29,450 | 860 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | $32,130 | 840 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $29,630 | 750 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $21,600 | 730 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $40,750 | 580 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $27,700 | 470 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $36,750 | 460 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $34,080 | 450 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $35,780 | 410 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $38,280 | 370 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: No formal educational credential · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
- Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
- Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
- Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
- Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
- Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
- Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.
- Identify and treat spots on garments.
- Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.
- Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
- Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.
- Slide material back and forth over heated, metal, ball-shaped forms to smooth and press portions of garments that cannot be satisfactorily pressed with flat pressers or hand irons.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2017-07
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2017-07
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Identify and treat spots on garments.
O*NET 21.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| wearing apparel presser | 9121.2 | exact |
| laundry ironer | 8157.1.1 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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