Drafting Designer Salary
$29.5K - $35K
3% of jobs
$35K - $40.5K
11% of jobs
$45.2K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$40.5K - $46K
14% of jobs
$46K - $51.5K
17% of jobs
The median wage is $53.6K / yr.
$51.5K - $57K
15% of jobs
$57K - $62.5K
15% of jobs
$63.2K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$62.5K - $68K
10% of jobs
$68K - $73.5K
7% of jobs
$73.5K - $79K
4% of jobs
$79K - $84.5K
3% of jobs
$84.5K - $90K
2% of jobs
$29.5K
$55K
$91.5K
$58,220
/year
$27.99
/hour
Drafting Designer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$58,220
Columbus
Ohio
$56,234
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How much does a Drafting Designer make?
As of Aug 18, 2026, the average annual pay for a Drafting Designer in the United States is $58,220 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $27.99 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,119/week or $4,851/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $91,500 and as low as $29,500, the majority of Drafting Designer salaries currently range between $45,500 (25th percentile) to $66,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $79,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Drafting Designer varies greatly (by as much as 20500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Drafting Designer in your area makes on average $56,234 per year, or $1,986 (3.411%) less than the national average annual salary of $58,220. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Drafting Designer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Drafting Designer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Drafting Designer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Drafting Designer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Drafting Designer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Mineral, VA, , with Cupertino, CA, and Santa Barbara, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Santa Barbara, CA, beats the national average by $13,327 (22.9%), and Mineral, VA, furthers that trend with another $26,395 (45.3%) above the $58,220 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Drafting Designer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
However, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies modestly at 21% between Mineral, VA, and Waimea, HI, , suggesting it may be difficult to see much positive wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may help determine the balance between location and salary for a Drafting Designer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Mineral, VA | $84,615 | $40.68 |
Cupertino, CA | $71,828 | $34.53 |
Santa Barbara, CA | $71,547 | $34.40 |
Berkeley, CA | $71,287 | $34.27 |
Sitka, AK | $70,136 | $33.72 |
Mountain View, CA | $68,681 | $33.02 |
San Francisco, CA | $68,593 | $32.98 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $68,330 | $32.85 |
San Jose, CA | $68,233 | $32.80 |
Waimea, HI | $67,904 | $32.65 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Drafting Designer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Drafting Designer category.
For example Computer Aided Engineering Engineer jobs pay as much as $43,532 (74.8%) more than the average Drafting Designer salary of $58,220. If you're qualified, finding work as a Computer Aided Engineering Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Drafting Designer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Computer Aided Engineering Engineer | $101,752 | $48.92 |
Work From Home Pcb Cad Librarian | $81,666 | $39.26 |
Cad Specialist | $71,018 | $34.14 |
Cad Coordinator | $56,453 | $27.14 |
Survey Cad Technician Survey Computer Aided Design Technician | $51,283 | $24.66 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
