Mechanical Drafters Salary — Chicago, Illinois

The average Mechanical Drafters in Chicago, Illinois earns $75,480 a year.

$75,480 / year, mean
↓ 2.4% below national average 100th percentile in Illinois

Chicago sits at the very top of the range for this role in Illinois — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's close to the national average for mechanical drafters — a fairly typical rate for this role. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Illinois

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
320
Estimate confidence
RSE 2.5%
Cost of living 104 #31 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 1770 #92 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $353,998 #78 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $88,850 #28 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Chicago ranks #31 for cost of living and #78 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $101,310 San Francisco $98,950 Seattle $98,470 Beaumont $91,660 San Diego $90,030 Midland $88,440 New York $88,290 Los Angeles $86,410 Houston $86,110 Trenton $85,640 Portland $83,320 San Luis Obispo $83,240 Kiryas Joel $83,090 Santa Maria $82,960 Dallas $81,680 Sacramento $81,410 Oxnard $81,300 Philadelphia $81,100 Bakersfield $80,990 Stockton $80,270 Baltimore $79,700 Detroit $79,190 Grand Rapids $78,580 Syracuse $78,350 Austin $78,250 Riverside $78,250 Bellingham $77,300 San Antonio $76,280 Niles $76,150 Chicago $75,480 Albany $75,090 Virginia Beach $74,650 Elizabethtown $74,350 Tampa $74,060 Harrisburg $73,540 Miami $73,460 Fresno $73,330 Modesto $73,330 Palm Bay $73,140 Richmond $72,920 Ann Arbor $72,720 Buffalo $72,360 Kalamazoo $71,950 Allentown $71,550 Jacksonville $71,490 Longview $71,330 Pittsburgh $71,310 Indianapolis $70,850 Fort Myers $70,710 Jackson $70,370 Louisville $70,140 Deltona $70,110 York $70,000 Reading $69,870 Roanoke $69,830 Lexington $69,680 Rochester $69,430 Lansing $68,870 Salem $68,750 Mount Vernon $68,610 Lakeland $68,470 Columbus $68,110 Sarasota $66,990 Orlando $66,830 Lancaster $66,810 Utica $66,460 Huntington $65,870 Glens Falls $64,940 Eugene $64,690 Amarillo $64,630 Ocala $64,370 Fort Wayne $63,960 Lynchburg $63,620 Spokane $63,430 Yakima $63,270 Chambersburg $62,570 Scranton $61,060 Erie $60,910 Panama City $60,890 McAllen $60,680 Evansville $60,210 Muskegon $60,130 Elkhart $58,620
CityMean salaryvs. Chicago
Albany, New York$75,090-0.5%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$71,550-5.2%
Amarillo, Texas$64,630-14.4%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$72,720-3.7%
Austin, Texas$78,250+3.7%
Bakersfield, California$80,990+7.3%
Baltimore, Maryland$79,700+5.6%
Beaumont, Texas$91,660+21.4%
Bellingham, Washington$77,300+2.4%
Buffalo, New York$72,360-4.1%
Fort Myers, Florida$70,710-6.3%
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania$62,570-17.1%
Columbus, Indiana$68,110-9.8%
Dallas, Texas$81,680+8.2%
Deltona, Florida$70,110-7.1%
Detroit, Michigan$79,190+4.9%
Elizabethtown, Kentucky$74,350-1.5%
Elkhart, Indiana$58,620-22.3%
Erie, Pennsylvania$60,910-19.3%
Eugene, Oregon$64,690-14.3%
Evansville, Indiana$60,210-20.2%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$63,960-15.3%
Fresno, California$73,330-2.8%
Glens Falls, New York$64,940-14.0%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$78,580+4.1%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$73,540-2.6%
Houston, Texas$86,110+14.1%
Huntington, West Virginia$65,870-12.7%
Indianapolis, Indiana$70,850-6.1%
Jackson, Michigan$70,370-6.8%
Jacksonville, Florida$71,490-5.3%
Kalamazoo, Michigan$71,950-4.7%
Kiryas Joel, New York$83,090+10.1%
Lakeland, Florida$68,470-9.3%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$66,810-11.5%
Lansing, Michigan$68,870-8.8%
Lexington, Kentucky$69,680-7.7%
Longview, Texas$71,330-5.5%
Los Angeles, California$86,410+14.5%
Louisville, Kentucky$70,140-7.1%
Lynchburg, Virginia$63,620-15.7%
McAllen, Texas$60,680-19.6%
Miami, Florida$73,460-2.7%
Midland, Texas$88,440+17.2%
Modesto, California$73,330-2.8%
Mount Vernon, Washington$68,610-9.1%
Muskegon, Michigan$60,130-20.3%
New York, New York$88,290+17.0%
Niles, Michigan$76,150+0.9%
Sarasota, Florida$66,990-11.2%
Ocala, Florida$64,370-14.7%
Orlando, Florida$66,830-11.5%
Oxnard, California$81,300+7.7%
Palm Bay, Florida$73,140-3.1%
Panama City, Florida$60,890-19.3%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$81,100+7.4%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$71,310-5.5%
Portland, Oregon$83,320+10.4%
Reading, Pennsylvania$69,870-7.4%
Richmond, Virginia$72,920-3.4%
Riverside, California$78,250+3.7%
Roanoke, Virginia$69,830-7.5%
Rochester, New York$69,430-8.0%
Sacramento, California$81,410+7.9%
Salem, Oregon$68,750-8.9%
San Antonio, Texas$76,280+1.1%
San Diego, California$90,030+19.3%
San Francisco, California$98,950+31.1%
San Jose, California$101,310+34.2%
San Luis Obispo, California$83,240+10.3%
Santa Maria, California$82,960+9.9%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$61,060-19.1%
Seattle, Washington$98,470+30.5%
Spokane, Washington$63,430-16.0%
Stockton, California$80,270+6.3%
Syracuse, New York$78,350+3.8%
Tampa, Florida$74,060-1.9%
Trenton, New Jersey$85,640+13.5%
Utica, New York$66,460-12.0%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$74,650-1.1%
Yakima, Washington$63,270-16.2%
York, Pennsylvania$70,000-7.3%

This metro area spans more than one state — where you actually pay income tax depends on where you work, not just where BLS assigns the area. Choose your work state:

Gross salary
75,480/yr
Estimated take-home
58,335/yr
Est. total withheld
22.7%

Single filer, federal + state tax (where the selected state levies one) + FICA, 2025 rates, for whichever state you select above. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional.

View cost of living in this state All Mechanical Drafters salaries in Illinois → All Mechanical Drafters salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 17-3013 SOC code
Official area Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 16980 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: il_idor_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
NapervilleElgin
Multi-state area: IL;IN
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Illinois

Population (metro area)
9,359,555