Architectural Drafter salary
What an architectural drafter actually earns, from 504 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-09-06.
Switch the market above to see architectural drafter pay in the 3 countries our sources cover, each with its own cost of living. The trend, seniority, and state detail below are United States data, where the official record runs deepest.
What the number means
An architectural drafter earns a blended US median near 67,975 dollars, with the typical middle running from 57,236 dollars to 83,316 dollars. The official OEWS median is 64,280 dollars, under the posted figure, because the advertised roles skew senior or well-funded. The official trend has moved up about 14 percent since 2019. By seniority, posted pay runs from roughly 57,982 dollars to 68,218 dollars. Demand is rated high, and 3% of postings are fully remote. The nearest adjacent move on our skill graph is interior designer, at 32 percent coverage; the instrument maps the rest.
Open architectural drafter roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
Architektin / allrounderin oder zeichnerin architektur, 50-100% (w/m/d) at Progress personal AGZürich, Zürich, Switzerland · Remote1d agoApply- Dessinateur en bâtiment at Academic Work Switzerland SAGenève, Geneva, Switzerland2d agoApply
- Zeichner:in Fachrichtung Architektur, 60-80% at Helbling Ierimonti Architekten GmbHZürich, Zürich, Switzerland2d agoApply
- CAD-Zeichner:in Garten-/Landschaft (40-80 %) at Futuro Personal AGBoswil, Aargau, Switzerland2d agoApply
- Zeichner/in Fachrichtung Architektur (80-100% - teilw. Homeoffice) at fsp Architekten AGSpreitenbach, Aargau, Switzerland · Remote2d agoApply
Zeichnerin / Zeichner Fachrichtung Architektur EFZ (80-100%) at phoros AGZürich, Zürich, Switzerland · Remote2d agoApply
By seniority
Posted-median pay by seniority signal in the title, from our corpus. Noisy at the edges where sample sizes are small.
By country
- United States$57,236$67,975$83,316
- United Kingdom$51,164$56,174$62,726
- Australia$59,132$71,675$80,635
Switzerland · official wage bands
median CHF 7'507/month
Swiss postings do not state pay, so these are not posted salaries: they are the federal wage survey (Lohnstrukturerhebung 2024) for the ISCO group 31 Ingenieurtechnische und vergleichbare Fachkräfte: standardized gross monthly, full-time, 13th salary included pro rata. The band covers the whole occupation group, which is coarser than this occupation alone.
Annual ≈ CHF 90'084 at the median. Source: Bundesamt für Statistik, LSE 2024.
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- New York$74,760
- Maryland$71,810
- Washington$65,140
- Utah$62,350
- Florida$61,080
- Kansas$60,940
Roles that pay more, that these skills already reach
Median pay from each destination’s own postings, with the readiness an architectural drafter profile already covers.
- 600 open electrical engineer roles$119,104 median · +$51,129 · 24% readiness
- 272 open mechanical engineer roles$112,630 median · +$44,655 · 37% readiness
- 13 open mep engineer roles$109,595 median · +$41,620 · 23% readiness
- 14 open industrial designer roles$100,224 median · +$32,249 · 16% readiness
Every measured move out of this role, ranked by readiness: alternative careers for an architectural drafter.
Is your offer fair?
Run a specific number through FairElephant, which weighs it against this data, your location, and remote market rates.
Related salaries
- Interior Designer salary$77,200 median
- Industrial Designer salary$100,224 median
- Architect salary$99,684 median
Quick answers
How much does an architectural drafter make?
The blended US median is about 67,975 dollars, with a typical range from 57,236 dollars to 83,316 dollars, against an official OEWS median of 64,280 dollars.
Is architectural drafter a good career in 2026?
Demand for the role is rated high in our July 2026 corpus, with 3% of postings fully remote. The pay is shown above by seniority and by country.
What can an architectural drafter move into?
The nearest adjacent role on our skill graph is interior designer, at 32 percent skill coverage. Run the instrument for the full set of reachable moves.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 17-3011. Live corpus 504 observations, 2026-09-06. Definitions in the glossary.