Hiring an electrical and electronics drafter in Plano, TX

Employers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX area pay electrical and electronics drafters a median of $83,100, with the middle half of the market between $63,330 and $96,730. Plano residents working in architecture and engineering occupations report a median of $118,633, which is 43% above what the metro pays for this role.

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What does an electrical and electronics drafter earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$63,330
Median	$83,100
75th percentile	$96,730

Half of electrical and electronics drafters in this area earn between $63,330 and $96,730. A band set below $63,330 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Plano residents earn

$118,633

Median earnings of Plano residents working in architecture and engineering occupations, 5,645 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 43% 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.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Draft detail and assembly drawings of design components, circuitry or printed circuit boards, using computer-assisted equipment or standard drafting techniques and devices.
Draft working drawings, wiring diagrams, wiring connection specifications, or cross-sections of underground cables, as required for instructions to installation crew.
Assemble documentation packages and produce drawing sets to be checked by an engineer or an architect.
Review completed construction drawings and cost estimates for accuracy and conformity to standards and regulations.
Consult with engineers to discuss or interpret design concepts, or determine requirements of detailed working drawings.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 17-3012.

Tools and technologies in demand

Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, Bentley MicroStation, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, NavisWorks Jetstream, Adobe Illustrator.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Plano?

This is a job zone three: medium preparation needed occupation. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 59.2% of Plano adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Plano commute runs 25.6 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 25.3% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Collin County, architectural, engineering and related services employs 7,259 and turns over 6.6% a quarter, with 953 hires against 636 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $9,612 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 electrical and electronics drafters. 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 $16,620 to $24,930 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.