Architectural and Civil Drafters in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,603
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$11,497
20.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,687
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$57,100
Kept after tax
$45,603
Worth in national money
$50,687
State rank
48
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Alabama pays this job a middle wage of $57,100, 48 of 50 states and about 13.68% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 213 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $57,100 you keep $45,603 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $50,687 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $57,890, since top earners drag the number up.
- Alabama's $57,100 median for architectural and civil drafters places it 48 of 50 states, about 13.68% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 213 of 482 in Alabama places architectural and civil drafters in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in Alabama is $45,603 after the full tax stack, from $57,100. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $50,687 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $57,890 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Architectural and Civil Drafters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,630 |
| This salary | $57,100 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $45,603 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,060 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,230 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $54,043 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,488 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $57,100 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,040 and the ninetieth is $77,630 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $45,603 take-home in Alabama comes from $57,100. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 213 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,687 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 213.
- The Alabama median of $57,100 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,040 to $77,630. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $45,603, from $57,100, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 213 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,687, worked from $57,100, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 213 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $39,040 at the tenth percentile, $77,630 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $50,687.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $45,603.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,040 to $77,630) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $50,687 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $45,603 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.