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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

17-3013 Mechanical Drafters

Prepare detailed working diagrams of machinery and mechanical devices, including dimensions, fastening methods, and other engineering information.


National estimates for Mechanical Drafters
Industry profile for Mechanical Drafters
Geographic profile for Mechanical Drafters

National estimates for Mechanical Drafters:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Mechanical Drafters:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
51,620 1.7 % $ 29.56 $ 61,490 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for Mechanical Drafters:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 17.84 $ 22.19 $ 28.01 $ 35.43 $ 44.43
Annual Wage (2) $ 37,100 $ 46,150 $ 58,270 $ 73,700 $ 92,410


Industry profile for Mechanical Drafters:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Mechanical Drafters are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Mechanical Drafters, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Mechanical Drafters:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services 12,490 0.83 $ 30.14 $ 62,700
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only) 5,590 0.78 $ 27.75 $ 57,710
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only) 5,180 1.09 $ 26.79 $ 55,730
Building Equipment Contractors 3,390 0.16 $ 31.97 $ 66,490
Employment Services 2,740 0.09 $ 30.52 $ 63,470

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Mechanical Drafters:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only) 5,180 1.09 $ 26.79 $ 55,730
Ship and Boat Building 1,210 0.88 $ 30.64 $ 63,730
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services 12,490 0.83 $ 30.14 $ 62,700
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only) 5,590 0.78 $ 27.75 $ 57,710
Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing 570 0.65 $ 28.47 $ 59,220

Top paying industries for Mechanical Drafters:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing (8) (8) $ 39.84 $ 82,860
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing 50 0.05 $ 38.54 $ 80,150
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (8) (8) $ 37.51 $ 78,020
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing 490 0.13 $ 36.41 $ 75,740
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 1,150 0.22 $ 35.80 $ 74,470


Geographic profile for Mechanical Drafters:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Mechanical Drafters are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Mechanical Drafters, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in Mechanical Drafters:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 5,260 0.32 0.86 $ 34.37 $ 71,490
Texas 5,030 0.42 1.12 $ 28.90 $ 60,100
Florida 2,870 0.34 0.92 $ 29.19 $ 60,720
Pennsylvania 2,810 0.51 1.38 $ 27.95 $ 58,130
New York 2,260 0.26 0.70 $ 29.90 $ 62,190




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Mechanical Drafters:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Maine 860 1.49 4.01 $ 28.38 $ 59,040
Wisconsin 1,960 0.72 1.95 $ 26.89 $ 55,920
Iowa 980 0.66 1.79 $ 29.17 $ 60,670
Maryland 1,560 0.62 1.67 $ 33.24 $ 69,130
Minnesota 1,580 0.58 1.57 $ 30.33 $ 63,090




Top paying states for Mechanical Drafters:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 5,260 0.32 0.86 $ 34.37 $ 71,490
Hawaii 80 0.13 0.36 $ 33.39 $ 69,460
Maryland 1,560 0.62 1.67 $ 33.24 $ 69,130
New Jersey 1,050 0.28 0.74 $ 33.18 $ 69,020
Connecticut 570 0.37 1.00 $ 32.82 $ 68,260





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Mechanical Drafters:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 1,840 0.32 0.85 $ 31.86 $ 66,270
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 1,810 0.61 1.64 $ 30.90 $ 64,280
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,810 0.20 0.55 $ 33.23 $ 69,120
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 1,340 0.37 1.00 $ 28.52 $ 59,310
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 1,210 0.65 1.76 $ 31.40 $ 65,300
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 1,110 0.86 2.32 $ 32.78 $ 68,180
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 1,090 0.25 0.67 $ 30.29 $ 63,010
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 1,040 0.59 1.58 $ 29.53 $ 61,410
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 1,040 0.40 1.07 $ 31.42 $ 65,350
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 970 0.50 1.34 $ 35.79 $ 74,450




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Mechanical Drafters:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Columbus, IN 90 1.93 5.20 $ 26.98 $ 56,120
Grand Island, NE 70 1.70 4.58 $ 21.10 $ 43,890
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 140 1.70 4.58 $ 29.61 $ 61,590
Wausau, WI 110 1.67 4.51 $ 24.75 $ 51,470
California-Lexington Park, MD 70 1.48 4.00 $ 31.35 $ 65,200
Pocatello, ID 50 1.43 3.86 $ 22.37 $ 46,520
Chambersburg-Waynesboro, PA 80 1.41 3.80 $ 26.97 $ 56,090
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 170 1.34 3.61 $ 21.74 $ 45,230
Leominster-Gardner, MA 60 1.21 3.26 $ 25.43 $ 52,900
Muncie, IN 50 1.19 3.20 $ 24.44 $ 50,840




Top paying metropolitan areas for Mechanical Drafters:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 530 0.48 1.29 $ 50.65 $ 105,360
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 510 0.36 0.98 $ 38.85 $ 80,820
Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 60 0.43 1.16 $ 37.83 $ 78,680
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 80 0.21 0.56 $ 37.28 $ 77,540
Colorado Springs, CO (8) (8) (8) $ 36.94 $ 76,840
Urban Honolulu, HI 50 0.13 0.35 $ 36.35 $ 75,610
Santa Rosa, CA 40 0.19 0.51 $ 36.20 $ 75,290
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 970 0.50 1.34 $ 35.79 $ 74,450
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 770 0.33 0.89 $ 35.15 $ 73,110
Billings, MT 40 0.48 1.29 $ 35.00 $ 72,800

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Mechanical Drafters:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 220 0.58 1.56 $ 25.47 $ 52,970
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) 210 0.67 1.80 $ 23.45 $ 48,780
Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area 180 1.07 2.89 $ 24.18 $ 50,280
Northeast Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 150 1.63 4.39 $ 21.06 $ 43,800
Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 140 1.05 2.82 $ 25.14 $ 52,290

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Mechanical Drafters:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 150 1.63 4.39 $ 21.06 $ 43,800
Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area 180 1.07 2.89 $ 24.18 $ 50,280
Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 140 1.05 2.82 $ 25.14 $ 52,290
Northwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 80 0.86 2.32 $ 22.86 $ 47,550
Southwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area 70 0.84 2.27 $ 26.51 $ 55,140

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Mechanical Drafters:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $ 30.42 $ 63,270
Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area 100 0.47 1.28 $ 30.27 $ 62,950
Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 80 0.69 1.85 $ 30.10 $ 62,610
West Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 30 0.25 0.68 $ 28.19 $ 58,620
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 40 0.40 1.08 $ 27.96 $ 58,150


About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021