Hiring a drafter in Washington, DC
Employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area pay drafters, all other a median of $59,300, with the middle half of the market between $47,390 and $91,720. Washington residents working in architecture and engineering occupations report a median of $111,961, which is 89% above what the metro pays for this role.
What does a drafter earn here?
Place of work
What employers pay
| 25th percentile | $47,390 |
| Median | $59,300 |
| 75th percentile | $91,720 |
Half of drafters, all other in this area earn between $47,390 and $91,720. A band set below $47,390 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.
Place of residence
What Washington residents earn
$111,961
Median earnings of Washington residents working in architecture and engineering occupations, 6,195 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.
The 89% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.
Residents here already earn more than this role pays, so your offer is competing with whatever they currently commute to.
How often do these jobs turn over?
In District of Columbia, architectural, engineering and related services employs 7,962 and turns over 6.7% a quarter, with 817 hires against 678 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $10,935 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5413.
That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about drafters, all other. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a low-churn market, where people do not move often and passive candidates are the whole game.
What does the search cost?
The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $11,860 to $17,790 on the first year salary alone.
One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.
Price this search
Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.
Hiring a drafter somewhere else?
Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.
- New York, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Houston, TX
- Phoenix, AZ
- Philadelphia, PA
- San Antonio, TX
- San Diego, CA
- Dallas, TX
- Fort Worth, TX
- Jacksonville, FL
- Austin, TX
Other architecture and engineering roles in Washington
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians
- Aerospace Engineers
- Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
- Architectural and Civil Drafters
- Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians
- Cartographers and Photogrammetrists
- Chemical Engineers
- Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
- Civil Engineers
Related
- Hiring Drafters, All Other: the role, the pay, the process
- Recruiting services in Washington
- Every District of Columbia city we cover
Washington is the largest of 1 District of Columbia cities in this dataset.