Architectural Drafter Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

Architectural drafters hold about 116,000 positions nationally. As an occupation, this career is ranked low for unemployment rate. About 4% of employees could not obtain a job in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Jobs in this career are most numerous in Santa Barbara (California), Sebastian (Florida), and Kennewick (Washington), and least common in South Bend (Indiana), Springfield (Massachusetts), and Detroit (Michigan).

Salaries vary the US, with the highest being found in Kennewick (Washington), San Jose (California), and Santa Barbara (California). The lowest salaries for this job are in College Station (Texas), Waco (Texas), and Brownsville (Texas).

Training and Education

Getting a postsecondary vocational award will improve one'schance of landing a job in this field. Architectural drafters with at least a bachelor's degree are 25% of the total. Approximately 62% of workers started college, but did not pursue a bachelor's degree. High school was sufficient education for 13% of people in this field. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Approximately, 6% of architectural drafters work part-time. In this field, about 5% work for themselves.

Architectural Drafters Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of architectural drafters compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for architectural drafters.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Birmingham	$43,000	510
Huntsville	$36,000	290
Montgomery	$42,000	160
Mobile	$49,000	120
Tuscaloosa	$29,000	80
Dothan	$33,000	50
Florence	$35,000	40
Decatur	$32,000	40

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$49,000	220
Fairbanks	$42,000	30

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Phoenix	$46,000	2,720
Tucson	$45,000	500
Prescott	$39,000	40
Kingman	$39,000	30

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Fayetteville	$37,000	280
Little Rock	$45,000	180
Fort Smith	$35,000	40

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Santa Ana	$53,000	2,050
San Diego	$48,000	1,950
Oakland	$61,000	1,710
San Francisco	$58,000	1,680
Sacramento	$49,000	1,250
Riverside	$52,000	990
San Jose	$81,000	760
Santa Barbara	$56,000	440
Oxnard	$58,000	320
Bakersfield	$46,000	310
Fresno	$43,000	280
San Luis Obispo	$45,000	230
Santa Rosa	$54,000	200
Modesto	$45,000	180
Stockton	$46,000	160
Salinas	$53,000	100
Vallejo	$48,000	90
Visalia	$44,000	80
Chico	$45,000	70

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Denver	$48,000	1,860
Boulder	$46,000	290
Fort Collins	$42,000	270
Colorado Springs	$43,000	220
Grand Junction	$48,000	60
Greeley	$45,000	40

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Hartford	$53,000	350
Bridgeport	$53,000	310
New Haven	$59,000	240
Norwich	$44,000	80

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$47,000	340
Dover	$42,000	50

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$49,000	1,920

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Orlando	$42,000	1,620
Miami	$46,000	1,390
Tampa	$46,000	1,120
Jacksonville	$43,000	780
Fort Lauderdale	$45,000	770
West Palm Beach	$46,000	650
Sarasota	$42,000	320
Lakeland	$42,000	310
Pensacola	$35,000	250
Palm Bay	$44,000	240
Cape Coral	$41,000	220
Tallahassee	$40,000	210
Port St Lucie	$49,000	140
Ocala	$32,000	140
Naples	$51,000	120
Gainesville	$40,000	110
Sebastian	$45,000	110
Fort Walton Beach	$52,000	110
Deltona	$38,000	80
Punta Gorda	$37,000	60

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Atlanta	$46,000	1,630
Augusta	$49,000	190
Savannah	$43,000	70
Macon	$49,000	60
Columbus	$44,000	50
Valdosta	$35,000	30

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$45,000	680

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$43,000	370
Coeur Dalene	$39,000	40

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Chicago	$46,000	1,980
Peoria	$43,000	110
Champaign	$40,000	80
Springfield	$47,000	50
Decatur	$44,000	40

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Indianapolis	$48,000	830
Gary	$46,000	190
Fort Wayne	$42,000	140
Evansville	$39,000	90
Elkhart	$40,000	80
Bloomington	$40,000	50
South Bend	$43,000	40
Michigan City	$44,000	30

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Des Moines	$48,000	220
Cedar Rapids	$40,000	120
Davenport	$45,000	90
Sioux City	$39,000	50

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$34,000	210
Topeka	$41,000	50

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Louisville	$38,000	380
Lexington	$42,000	230
Bowling Green	$31,000	30

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baton Rouge	$48,000	480
New Orleans	$46,000	320
Lafayette	$39,000	100
Monroe	$46,000	60
Houma	$35,000	50
Lake Charles	$55,000	40

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$45,000	360
Bangor	$38,000	40

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baltimore	$47,000	810
Bethesda	$48,000	570
Salisbury	$40,000	60

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boston	$49,000	2,090
Barnstable Town	$48,000	110
Framingham	$48,000	100
Springfield	$45,000	80
Worcester	$58,000	80
Lowell	$54,000	40

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Warren	$46,000	730
Detroit	$45,000	170
Ann Arbor	$43,000	150
Lansing	$47,000	140
Kalamazoo	$45,000	50
Niles	$44,000	50
Holland	$63,000	30

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Minneapolis	$48,000	1,470
Duluth	$43,000	100
Rochester	$43,000	80
St Cloud	$43,000	70

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Jackson	$39,000	270
Gulfport	$39,000	110
Pascagoula	$44,000	50
Hattiesburg	$39,000	50

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers
St Louis	$46,000	1,320
Kansas City	$47,000	1,110
Springfield	$39,000	200
Jefferson City	$32,000	80
Columbia	$39,000	80
Joplin	$35,000	40

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Billings	$42,000	130
Missoula	$31,000	40
Great Falls	$40,000	40

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$42,000	260
Lincoln	$45,000	150

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Las Vegas	$49,000	740
Reno	$49,000	130
Carson City	$52,000	30

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashua	$43,000	70
Manchester	$48,000	70
Portsmouth	$46,000	40

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Newark	$46,000	900
Edison	$46,000	850
Camden	$43,000	350
Trenton	$48,000	260
Atlantic City	$41,000	80
Ocean City	$51,000	50
Vineland	$49,000	30

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Albuquerque	$41,000	640
Santa Fe	$50,000	110
Las Cruces	$32,000	40

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$53,000	4,130
Nassau	$52,000	930
Albany	$42,000	290
Buffalo	$43,000	220
Rochester	$45,000	170
Syracuse	$41,000	170
Poughkeepsie	$51,000	150
Binghamton	$38,000	110
Glens Falls	$35,000	50

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charlotte	$48,000	920
Raleigh	$46,000	860
Durham	$45,000	220
Greensboro	$43,000	200
Wilmington	$48,000	180
Winston Salem	$44,000	150
Fayetteville	$52,000	70
Rocky Mount	$43,000	60
Greenville	$40,000	50

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Fargo	$34,000	150

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Cincinnati	$44,000	660
Columbus	$43,000	620
Cleveland	$46,000	340
Toledo	$48,000	250
Akron	$41,000	230
Dayton	$43,000	170
Youngstown	$45,000	100
Canton	$43,000	90

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Oklahoma City	$42,000	490
Tulsa	$47,000	420

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Portland	$43,000	1,380
Eugene	$42,000	220
Salem	$43,000	110
Bend	$50,000	90
Medford	$45,000	80
Corvallis	$50,000	40

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Philadelphia	$43,000	1,950
Pittsburgh	$44,000	1,240
Allentown	$43,000	460
Harrisburg	$43,000	330
Lancaster	$41,000	300
Reading	$42,000	180
York	$46,000	170
Scranton	$35,000	150
Altoona	$38,000	70
Williamsport	$39,000	60
Erie	$38,000	60
State College	$33,000	50
Lebanon	$36,000	40

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$47,000	360

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charleston	$49,000	300
Greenville	$54,000	280
Columbia	$43,000	200
Myrtle Beach	$48,000	110

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$37,000	120
Rapid City	$31,000	70

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashville	$51,000	650
Memphis	$53,000	410
Knoxville	$44,000	300
Chattanooga	$51,000	130
Kingsport	$40,000	60

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Houston	$50,000	3,300
Dallas	$47,000	2,700
San Antonio	$40,000	1,120
Austin	$42,000	960
Fort Worth	$46,000	710
El Paso	$38,000	180
Mcallen	$28,000	160
Tyler	$39,000	120
College Station	$28,000	110
Brownsville	$26,000	90
Lubbock	$29,000	80
Wichita Falls	$30,000	60
Laredo	$27,000	60
Longview	$34,000	50
Waco	$26,000	40
Victoria	$45,000	30

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Salt Lake City	$44,000	1,010
Provo	$39,000	170
Ogden	$42,000	120
St George	$37,000	80
Logan	$39,000	70

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$47,000	110

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Virginia Beach	$40,000	570
Richmond	$45,000	550
Lynchburg	$37,000	140
Charlottesville	$45,000	100
Roanoke	$40,000	100
Blacksburg	$37,000	50
Harrisonburg	$38,000	40
Winchester	$39,000	40

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Seattle	$45,000	2,200
Tacoma	$50,000	270
Spokane	$39,000	220
Kennewick	$64,000	210
Bremerton	$42,000	100
Olympia	$40,000	100
Bellingham	$50,000	80

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charleston	$44,000	70

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Milwaukee	$46,000	750
Madison	$46,000	260
Green Bay	$43,000	70
Wausau	$44,000	60
Janesville	$40,000	60
Eau Claire	$43,000	50

Our architectural drafter career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.