Careers / Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$37,800
United States, 2025
Employment
7,450
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Construct, decorate, or repair leather and leather-like products, such as luggage, shoes, and saddles. May use hand tools.
- O*NET code
- 51-6041.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- Dye, soak, polish, paint, stamp, stitch, stain, buff, or engrave leather or other materials to obtain desired effects, decorations, or shapes.
- Cut out parts, following patterns or outlines, using knives, shears, scissors, or machine presses.
- Construct, decorate, or repair leather products according to specifications, using sewing machines, needles and thread, leather lacing, glue, clamps, hand tools, or rivets.
- Repair and recondition leather products such as trunks, luggage, shoes, saddles, belts, purses, and baseball gloves.
- Align and stitch or glue materials such as fabric, fleece, leather, or wood, to join parts.
- Inspect articles for defects, and remove damaged or worn parts, using hand tools.
- Drill or punch holes and insert or attach metal rings, handles, and fastening hardware, such as buckles.
- Prepare inserts, heel pads, and lifts from casts of customers' feet.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$28,210
25th percentile
$31,270
75th percentile
$45,670
90th percentile
$52,550
Most important skills
- Monitoring3.0
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Coordination2.9
- Reading Comprehension2.9
- Social Perceptiveness2.9
- Service Orientation2.9
- Operations Monitoring2.9
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9
- Time Management2.8
- Quality Control Analysis2.5
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 4 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
4
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | 2.6 | Not selected | 2.6 |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | 2.5 | Not selected | 2.5 |
| Speaking | 3.0 | 2.3 | Not selected | 2.3 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
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Compare with Shoe and Leather Workers and RepairersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| TN | $52,520 | 330 | 2025 |
| WA | $48,310 | 100 | 2025 |
| NJ | $46,790 | 230 | 2025 |
| MA | $46,550 | 500 | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $46,550 | 390 | 2025 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $46,210 | 220 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $45,960 | 260 | 2025 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $45,640 | 100 | 2025 |
| AZ | $45,510 | 120 | 2025 |
| WI | $44,000 | 460 | 2025 |
| IL | $43,730 | 200 | 2025 |
| MN | $42,940 | 200 | 2025 |
| NY | $42,100 | — | 2025 |
| NH | $40,800 | 30 | 2025 |
| ID | $40,000 | 40 | 2025 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $39,960 | 40 | 2025 |
| MO | $38,700 | 240 | 2025 |
| UT | $38,700 | 70 | 2025 |
| CA | $38,130 | 510 | 2025 |
| ME | $38,030 | 160 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.