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How much do machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning earn in Sweden?

Machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning. 5,000 people employed in Sweden.

28,500SEK

per month is the median salary for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning in Sweden in 2025. That is 26% lower than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+2.9% since 2024

≈ €2,500 / $2,950 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 23,136 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 164 SEK an hour · 342,000 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

In the 2025 salary statistics, machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning earned 28,600 SEK a month on average in Sweden. The median salary is 28,500 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 24,200 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 33,100 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Average pay
28,600 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
24,200 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
33,100 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
5,000
In this job in Sweden

The pay range

How monthly salaries are distributed among machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning in Sweden. The same scale is used in the tables further down.

24,200 SEKLowest 10%28,500 SEKMedian33,100 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 25,800–30,700 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning: starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 18–24, earn 26,900 SEK a month on average — roughly 21,900 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 18–24 26,900 SEK 21,929 SEK
Average, aged 25–34 28,300 SEK 22,985 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 24,200 SEK 19,892 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 25,800 SEK 21,099 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning: pay in the private and public sector

What machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors 28,600 SEK 28,500 SEK 28,300 SEK 28,600 SEK
Private sector 28,500 SEK 28,400 SEK 28,300 SEK 28,500 SEK
Public sector 29,400 SEK 29,300 SEK 28,700 SEK 29,600 SEK
Central government 29,600 SEK – – –
Municipalities 27,900 SEK 27,500 SEK 25,500 SEK 28,500 SEK
Regions (health care) 29,700 SEK 29,600 SEK 29,200 SEK 29,900 SEK

Machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning: salary after tax in Sweden

What machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 28,500 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 23,136 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

28,500 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 23,136 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 23,494 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 23,099 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 23,129 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 23,702 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 22,599 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 18–24 years, earn 26,900 SEK before tax — roughly 21,929 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 33,100 SEK, which is roughly 26,605 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning

Pay for men and women

Median salary for men and women
Gender 25,000 35,000 Median pay Number
Men 28,300 SEK 2,800
Women 28,600 SEK –

Women's average salary is 100% of men's average salary in this job.

Statistics Sweden calculates the ratio on average monthly salary, while the table above shows median salaries, so the two do not line up exactly. The figure is also unadjusted: it does not account for differences in age, sector or position.

Machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning: salary by age

Pay for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 25,000 35,000 Average pay Men Women Number
18–24 years 26,900 SEK 26,900 SEK – –
25–34 years 28,300 SEK 28,600 SEK 27,400 SEK –
35–44 years 28,700 SEK 29,000 SEK 28,300 SEK –
45–54 years 28,900 SEK 28,700 SEK 29,000 SEK –
55–64 years 29,300 SEK 28,900 SEK 29,600 SEK 1,000

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 25,000 35,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Primary and secondary education less than 9 years (ISCED97 1) 28,200 SEK 28,500 SEK 27,900 SEK –
Primary and secondary education 9-10 years (ISCED97 2) 28,300 SEK 27,700 SEK 29,100 SEK –
Upper secondary education, 2 years or less (ISCED97 3C) 29,100 SEK 29,200 SEK 29,100 SEK 1,200
Upper secondary education 3 years (ISCED97 3A) 28,700 SEK 28,700 SEK 28,600 SEK 1,200
Post-secondary education, less than 3 years (ISCED97 4+5B) 28,900 SEK 29,100 SEK 28,700 SEK –
Post-secondary education 3 years or more (ISCED97 5A) 28,900 SEK – 28,800 SEK –

Machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning: salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 25,000 35,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Stockholm 30,100 SEK 30,400 SEK 29,400 SEK –
East-Central Sweden 28,300 SEK 28,200 SEK 28,300 SEK –
Småland and islands 27,300 SEK – – –
South Sweden 28,700 SEK 28,900 SEK 28,400 SEK –
West Sweden 29,200 SEK 28,900 SEK 29,400 SEK –
North-Central Sweden 27,900 SEK 27,400 SEK – –
Central Norrland 28,200 SEK – – –
Upper Norrland 27,900 SEK – – –

Machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning: pay growth 2014–2025

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 22,400 SEK in 2014 to 28,500 SEK in 2025, +27% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

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Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 8151, “maskinoperatörer, blekning, färgning och tvättning”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Appreterare
  • Avsynare, tyger
  • Detaschör
  • Färgblandare, textil
  • Garnfärgare
  • Garntvättare
  • Kemtvättare
  • Manglare
  • Maskinoperatör, blekning, färgning o. tvättning
  • Maskinoperatör, textilindustri, blekning, färgning, tvättning
  • Maskinoperatör, tvätteri
  • Maskintvättare
  • Mattvättare
  • Möbeltvättare
  • Plisserare
  • Plysare
  • Ruggare
  • Spannramsförare
  • Styckrullare
  • Textilblekare
  • Textilfärgare
  • Textiltryckare, maskinoperatör
  • Textiltvättare
  • Torkmaskinskötare, textil
  • Tryckare, textil
  • Tvistare
  • Tvättare
  • Tvättbiträde
  • Tvätteriarbetare
  • Tvättmaskinist
  • Tvättmaskinskötare
  • Tvättvärd
  • Tygavsynare
  • Tyglagare
  • Tygpressare
  • Våttvättare
  • Vävavsynare, blekning, färgning
  • Vävplysare

Frequently asked questions

How much do machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary was then 28,500 SEK a month before tax, against 27,700 SEK the year before (2024) — +2.9%. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

What is the median salary for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning in Sweden?

The median salary for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning in Sweden is 28,500 SEK per month before tax (2025). That means half earn less and half earn more. The median across all jobs in Sweden is 38,300 SEK, so machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning sit 26% lower than the typical job.

How much do machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning earn after tax?

The median salary for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning is 28,500 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 23,100 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the difference between average and median pay for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning?

The average (28,600 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (28,500 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning typically earn.

What is the starting salary for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning aged 18–24 years earn 26,900 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 24,200 SEK. More in the section “Machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning: starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 33,100 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Is there a gender pay gap among machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning in Sweden?

Women's average salary is 100% of men's in this job. The median salary is 28,300 SEK for men and 28,600 SEK for women. The figure is not adjusted for differences in age, sector or working hours.

Where in Sweden do machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning earn the most?

Pay is highest in Stockholm, where machine operators, bleaching, dyeing and cleaning earn 30,100 SEK per month on average.

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