Sewing and quilting statistics: 2024 reference.
A concise, sourced look at participation, machine ownership, quilting habits, and U.S. sewing-machine employment. Every figure below names its source and data date.
Last updated November 4, 2026
Two useful views of a hands-on industry.
Consumer participation figures come from a 2024 quilting survey covering the United States and Canada. Employment and wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and describe a U.S. occupation and industries.
Those are different lenses. Keeping them separate makes the numbers more useful for writers, researchers, educators, retailers, and anyone looking for a straightforward reference.
Seven statistics worth keeping handy.
30 million
estimated active sewists in the U.S. and Canada
Craft Industry Alliance defines an active creative as someone who made a creative project in the previous 12 months. This is a regional survey estimate, not a U.S.-only count.
Source: Craft Industry Alliance, Quilting Trends Survey Results, 2024 ↗9 to 11 million
active quilt-industry participants in the U.S. and Canada
The same 2024 survey describes this participation level as consistent over the prior decade.
Source: Craft Industry Alliance, Quilting Trends Survey Results, 2024 ↗4
different types of sewing machines owned by the average quilter
This finding is from the 2024 quilting survey and reflects its respondent group, not every person who sews.
Source: Craft Industry Alliance, Quilting Trends Survey Results, 2024 ↗6 hours
per week spent quilting by the average quilter
The survey also reports that the average quilter starts 11 projects and completes 9 in a year.
Source: Craft Industry Alliance, Quilting Trends Survey Results, 2024 ↗109,590
U.S. sewing machine operators
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated a mean annual wage of $36,680 and a median hourly wage of $17.31 for this occupation.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 ↗22,310
sewing machine operators in U.S. cut and sew apparel manufacturing
This was the largest listed sewing-machine-operator employment count among the BLS industry tables cited here.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, industry employment charts, May 2024 ↗18,180
sewing machine operators in U.S. other textile product mills
The same BLS tables list 5,870 sewing machine operators in textile furnishings mills.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, industry employment charts, May 2024 ↗How to read these figures.
Participation and ownership figures are survey findings published by Craft Industry Alliance in 2024. They describe the survey’s active creative and quilting audience across the United States and Canada. They should not be treated as a census of all sewists.
Employment and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Industry counts show where sewing machine operators work, while the national occupation figure is broader.
- Craft Industry Alliance: Quilting Trends Survey Results 2024 ↗
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: May 2024 national occupation data ↗
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: May 2024 industry employment charts ↗
Cite this page
l.a.i.products. “Sewing and Quilting Statistics: 2024 Reference.” Updated November 4, 2026. https://sellingpartsusa.com/sewing-and-quilting-statistics