Architectural and Civil Drafters in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,814
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$12,326
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,423
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$62,140
Kept after tax
$49,814
Worth in national money
$56,423
State rank
36
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Oklahoma is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $62,140, ranking 36 of 50 states — about 6.06% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 168 among 492 occupations Oklahoma publishes pay for.
- Here is where Oklahoma does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $62,140 you keep $49,814, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $56,423 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $64,410, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Oklahoma ranks 36 of 50 for architectural and civil drafters, with a median of $62,140 — about 6.06% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 168 of 492 in Oklahoma 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.
- After federal, FICA and Oklahoma income tax, retained pay for architectural and civil drafters on $62,140 is $49,814. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $56,423 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $64,410 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Architectural and Civil Drafters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $91,330 |
| This salary | $62,140 |
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 Oklahoma | $49,814 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,109 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,799 |
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 | $59,283 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,385 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of architectural and civil drafters in Oklahoma earn under $62,140 and half over. The published range runs $43,170 at the tenth percentile to $91,330 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Oklahoma's $49,814, worked from $62,140. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 168 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Oklahoma, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $56,423, the adjusted value of that $62,140 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 168 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for architectural and civil drafters in Oklahoma, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,170 to $91,330; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Oklahoma take-home of $49,814, on $62,140 for work ranking 168 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 168 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Oklahoma, so $56,423 — the adjusted value of that $62,140 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 168 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $64,410, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $43,170 and the top tenth $91,330 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Oklahoma is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $56,423 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Oklahoma's own levy, $49,814 remains.
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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Oklahoma is $64,410. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($43,170) and the ninetieth ($91,330) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma'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 $56,423 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 $49,814 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.