Computer Aided Drafter Salary

Q: How much does a Computer Aided Drafter make?

Computer aided drafters make $43,520 per year on average, or $20.92 per hour, in the United States. Computer aided drafters on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $33,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $57,000. Location impacts how much a computer aided drafter can expect to make. Computer aided drafters make the most in New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Hawaii, and Arizona.

Updated February 6, 2023

Average Computer Aided Drafter Salary

$43,520yearly

$20.92 hourly

Entry level Salary

$33,000 yearly

$33,00010%

$43,520Median

$57,00090%

How much does a Computer Aided Drafter make?

Computer aided drafters make $43,520 per year on average, or $20.92 per hour, in the United States. Computer aided drafters on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $33,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $57,000.

Location impacts how much a computer aided drafter can expect to make. Computer aided drafters make the most in New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Hawaii, and Arizona.

Highest Paying States For Computer Aided Drafters

Throughout the U.S., the average salary for a computer aided drafter is roughly $43,520 per year, which boils down to $20.92 per hour. Interestingly enough, computer aided drafters have the highest salaries in Kearny, NJ at about $54,013 per year. For those who are just starting out, the average entry-level salary in Kearny, NJ is $40,000. Additionally, computer aided drafters make more than the average salary in Washington, DC, Benicia, CA, New York, NY, White Bear Lake, MN, and Raleigh, NC. On a more broad level, computer aided drafter salaries are highest in New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Hawaii, Arizona, Vermont, and New York. On the contrary, Wyoming, Alaska, and Indiana offer the lowest computer aided drafter salaries.

State View
County View

Average Salary:

Computer Aided Drafter average salary by State

Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	Arizona	$47,208	$22.70	209
2	Vermont	$46,624	$22.42	32
3	North Dakota	$45,478	$21.86	34
4	Connecticut	$49,138	$23.62	101
5	Rhode Island	$45,767	$22.00	43
6	District of Columbia	$51,756	$24.88	63
7	New Jersey	$54,074	$26.00	161
8	Minnesota	$46,137	$22.18	200
9	Pennsylvania	$46,144	$22.18	249
10	Maryland	$46,104	$22.17	352
11	South Dakota	$42,843	$20.60	40
12	West Virginia	$46,189	$22.21	27
13	Montana	$42,775	$20.56	50
14	Hawaii	$47,315	$22.75	51
15	North Carolina	$45,560	$21.90	188
16	California	$48,677	$23.40	878
17	Colorado	$45,078	$21.67	175
18	Kentucky	$44,732	$21.51	66
19	Massachusetts	$44,918	$21.60	279
20	New York	$46,557	$22.38	290
21	Oregon	$42,975	$20.66	175
22	New Mexico	$40,696	$19.57	92
23	Washington	$44,481	$21.39	197
24	Delaware	$43,139	$20.74	38
25	Illinois	$44,186	$21.24	246
26	Kansas	$42,657	$20.51	73
27	New Hampshire	$41,547	$19.97	67
28	Missouri	$43,898	$21.10	114
29	Utah	$41,210	$19.81	107
30	Nevada	$41,555	$19.98	63
31	Texas	$42,291	$20.33	506
32	Tennessee	$42,181	$20.28	108
33	Virginia	$42,001	$20.19	345
34	Oklahoma	$41,202	$19.81	76
35	Ohio	$41,229	$19.82	225
36	Alaska	$38,037	$18.29	53
37	Wyoming	$38,575	$18.55	36
38	Wisconsin	$39,689	$19.08	193
39	Georgia	$40,835	$19.63	330
40	Iowa	$39,860	$19.16	96
41	South Carolina	$40,059	$19.26	97
42	Alabama	$39,189	$18.84	121
43	Florida	$40,611	$19.52	395
44	Michigan	$39,487	$18.98	186
45	Arkansas	$39,416	$18.95	46
46	Nebraska	$39,108	$18.80	65
47	Mississippi	$37,029	$17.80	66
48	Idaho	$36,999	$17.79	51
49	Maine	$35,903	$17.26	41
50	Louisiana	$38,680	$18.60	68
51	Indiana	$37,533	$18.04	132

Highest Paying Cities For Computer Aided Drafters

Rank	City	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	Kearny, NJ	$54,013	$25.97
2	Washington, DC	$51,728	$24.87	2
3	Benicia, CA	$49,217	$23.66
4	New York, NY	$46,726	$22.46	2
5	White Bear Lake, MN	$46,195	$22.21	2
6	Raleigh, NC	$45,940	$22.09	3
7	Erie, PA	$45,129	$21.70	1
8	Colorado Springs, CO	$45,117	$21.69
9	Framingham, MA	$44,977	$21.62	1
10	Seattle, WA	$44,614	$21.45	1
11	Chicago, IL	$44,314	$21.30	5
12	Saint Joseph, MO	$43,828	$21.07	2
13	Portland, OR	$42,857	$20.60	4
14	Houston, TX	$42,403	$20.39	3
15	Memphis, TN	$42,054	$20.22

Computer Aided Drafter Salary by Years of Experience

The salary for a computer aided drafter can vary depending on the years of experience that a person has, from entry level to senior level. An accountant with 0-2 years of experience earns an average salary of $32,974, a mid-career professional with 3-6 years of experience makes $43,520 a year on average, and a senior level accountant with 7-12 years of experience enjoys an average annual salary of $48,998. Data on how experience level affects total compensation is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of their National Compensation Survey, which is based on factors such as knowledge, complexity, contacts, and environment.

Computer Aided Drafters Salary Details

Average Computer Aided Drafter Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a Computer Aided Drafter's Salary?

Percentile	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate
90th Percentile	$57,000	$4,750	$27
75th Percentile	$50,000	$4,167	$24
Average	$43,520	$3,627	$21
25th Percentile	$37,000	$3,083	$18
10th Percentile	$33,000	$2,750	$16

Highest Paying Types of Computer Aided Drafters

Job Title	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
Design Technician	$62,288	$5,191	$29.95	48,394
Architectural Internship	$53,914	$4,493	$25.92	57,981
Architectural Designer	$59,122	$4,927	$28.42	54,358
Draftsman	$42,908	$3,576	$20.63	3,143
Drafting Internship	$42,284	$3,524	$20.33	51,193
Autocad Designer	$55,786	$4,649	$26.82	46,459

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

Which Companies Pay Computer Aided Drafters The Most?

According to our most recent salary estimates, Johnson Controls and BlackRock are the highest paying companies for computer aided drafters.

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Johnson Controls	$55,882	$26.87	13
2	BlackRock	$54,307	$26.11	4
3	IDEX	$53,656	$25.80	5
4	Clear Channel Airport	$53,003	$25.48
5	AMETEK	$52,966	$25.46	3
6	Stantec	$52,316	$25.15	46
7	Fellowes Brands	$51,951	$24.98
8	GPAC	$51,423	$24.72	39
9	Cyient	$50,732	$24.39	4
10	Fishbeck	$50,468	$24.26
11	Twin Cities Stores	$50,421	$24.24
12	Systems	$50,128	$24.10
13	McAdams	$49,741	$23.91	2
14	Virginia's Community Colleges	$48,631	$23.38	4
15	Kimley-Horn	$48,239	$23.19	55
16	Richmond American Homes	$48,076	$23.11
17	VisionCorp Rep	$47,941	$23.05
18	Engineering Consultants Group	$47,612	$22.89	1
19	D.R. Horton	$47,525	$22.85	1
20	NIKA	$47,465	$22.82

How Much Do Computer Aided Drafters Make In Different Industries?

Here are some examples of how much a computer aided drafter salaries can based on different industries:

The professional industry pays computer aided drafters an average salary of $46,473
The construction industry pay $45,807
The lowest paying industry for computer aided drafters is the internet industry. Computer aided drafters in this industry earn an average salary of $42,908

Highest Paying Industries For Computer Aided Drafters

Rank	Industry	Average Salary	Hourly Rate
1	Professional	$46,473	$22.34
2	Construction	$45,807	$22.02
3	Manufacturing	$45,704	$21.97
4	Technology	$44,845	$21.56
5	Energy	$44,766	$21.52
6	Telecommunication	$42,971	$20.66
7	Internet	$42,908	$20.63

High Paying Computer Aided Drafter Jobs

Computer Aided Drafter Pay Trends

Average Computer Aided Drafter Salary Over Time

Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Computer Aided Drafter Salary By Year

Year	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	% Change
2023	$43,500	$20.92	+2.0%
2022	$42,600	$20.50	+2.5%
2021	$41,600	$19.98	+3.7%
2020	$40,000	$19.24	+2.3%
2019	$39,100	$18.79	+1.8%

Recently Added Computer Aided Drafter Salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date Added	Salary
Goldstone Partners, Inc.	CAD Drafter	Golden, CO	11/30/2022	$50,000
Synectics Inc.	CAD Drafter	Mesa, AZ	11/29/2022	$83,480
Enser Corporation	CAD Drafter	Lakewood, NJ	11/26/2022	$46,000
Mechosystems	CAD Drafter II	Islandia, NY	11/24/2022	$45,000
Springs Window Fashions	CAD Drafter II	Islandia, NY	11/24/2022	$45,000
Cornell Pump, LLC	CAD Drafter	Happy Valley, OR	11/24/2022	$45,914
Cornell Pump, LLC	CAD Drafter	Happy Valley, OR	11/24/2022	$45,914
Cybercoders	CAD Drafter-Autodesk Inventor, Equipment	Columbia, TN	11/23/2022	$60,000
Cybercoders	CAD Drafter-Autodesk Inventor, Equipment	Columbia, TN	11/23/2022	$60,000
Crawford Thomas Recruiting	Civil CAD Drafter	Altamonte Springs, FL	11/23/2022	$48,001

Computer Aided Drafter Salaries FAQs

What State Pays Computer Aided Drafters The Most?

New Jersey pays Computer Aided Drafters the most in the United States, with an average salary of $54,074 per year, or $26.00 per hour.

How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As A Computer Aided Drafter?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a Computer Aided Drafter if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in District of Columbia you should be paid close to $51,756 per year.

Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.

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Updated February 6, 2023