Menu
Architecture & Engineering

Mechanical Drafters

SOC 17-3013

Turn engineers' designs into the precise drawings shops build from.

The job
Median pay
$72k
$58k to $86k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Declining
-6.0% projected
Openings a year
3k
BLS projection
Typical education
Associate's
Our model
AI displacement risk
High
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
4/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
66th pct
More exposed than 66% of occupations · modeled estimate · 61st pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
40/100

Take the next step

Weigh it against Landscape ArchitectsPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostNew Mexico leads at $90k; every state is below Find careers like itOpen the map at Mechanical Drafters and explore its neighbours See open jobsMechanical Drafters roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Mechanical Drafters, who lean most on reading comprehension Real pay & reviewsWhat Mechanical Drafters say they actually earn

Key skills

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

StateJobsPer 1,000vs nationalMedian pay
Texas4,6300.31.3×$79k
California3,6400.20.8×$83k
Pennsylvania2,3300.41.5×$63k
Michigan2,0300.51.8×$72k
New York1,9400.20.8×$76k
Ohio1,7900.31.3×$71k
Washington1,6900.51.9×$77k
Wisconsin1,6300.62.2×$64k
Florida1,5400.20.6×$68k
North Carolina1,3500.31.1×$59k
All 51 states
StateJobsPer 1,000vs nationalMedian pay
Indiana1,3000.41.6×$63k
Minnesota1,2200.41.6×$73k
Missouri8700.31.1×$66k
Georgia8200.20.7×$67k
Tennessee7400.20.9×$63k
New Jersey6900.20.6×$83k
Oklahoma6500.41.5×$63k
South Carolina6400.31.1×$64k
Arizona6300.20.8×$67k
Iowa6300.41.6×$63k
Virginia6300.20.6×$70k
Maine6201.03.8×$76k
Massachusetts6200.20.7×$75k
Colorado5800.20.8×$85k
Kansas5400.41.5×$65k
Nebraska5300.52.0×$61k
Kentucky5100.31.0×$69k
Utah4900.31.1×$70k
Connecticut4500.31.0×$69k
Illinois4500.10.3×$63k
Alabama4400.20.8×$54k
Louisiana4200.20.8×$78k
Oregon4100.20.8×$74k
Maryland3600.10.5×$77k
Idaho3300.41.5×$59k
Mississippi2600.20.9×$60k
Arkansas2500.20.8×$60k
Nevada2500.20.6×$76k
New Hampshire2180.31.2×$55k~
Washington DC1800.31.0×$90k~
Delaware1600.31.3×$57k
Hawaii1420.20.9×$71k~
West Virginia1400.20.8×$65k
Montana1250.20.9×$58k~
North Dakota1000.20.9×$78k
Rhode Island1000.20.8×$69k
South Dakota1000.20.8×$53k
New Mexico900.10.4×$90k
Vermont700.20.9×$73k
Wyoming600.20.8×$61k
Alaska500.20.6×$76k~

Top metro areas

  1. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX1,620 jobs · $83k median
  2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA1,480 jobs · $81k median
  3. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX1,300 jobs · $79k median
  4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ1,180 jobs · $84k median
  5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA1,020 jobs · $94k median
  6. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI970 jobs · $75k median
  7. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI830 jobs · $76k median
  8. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD730 jobs · $74k median

Explore the rankings

Fastest-growing jobsHighest-paying jobsJobs most exposed to AIMost AI-resilient jobsHigh pay, easy to enter All career rankings All 524 occupations Compare careers
Explore Mechanical Drafters interactively →

Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.