Mechanical Drafters in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,068
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$13,252
20.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,648
Illinois costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Illinois — 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
$63,320
Kept after tax
$50,068
Worth in national money
$50,648
State rank
36
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Illinois pays mechanical drafters a middle wage of $63,320, 36 of 47 states and about 11.5% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 228.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $63,320, take-home of $50,068 is worth roughly $50,648 in national money. The average comes to $71,290, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois's $63,320 median for mechanical drafters places it 36 of 47 states, about 11.5% 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.
- In Illinois's occupational distribution, mechanical drafters sits at 228 of 494 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for mechanical drafters, whose median is $63,320, the adjusted figure of $50,648 differs little from $50,068 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $71,290 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mechanical Drafters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $56,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,930 |
| This salary | $63,320 |
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 Illinois | $50,068 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,058 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,952 |
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 | $59,599 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,780 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
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 mechanical drafters in Illinois earn under $63,320 and half over. The published range runs $56,710 at the tenth percentile to $94,930 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $50,068, from $63,320, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 228 of 494 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $50,648, the adjusted value of that $63,320 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 228 of 494 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for mechanical drafters in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $56,710 to $94,930; 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.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $50,068 from $63,320. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 228 of 494 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $50,648 — the adjusted value of that $63,320 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 228 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $71,290, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $56,710 at the tenth percentile, $94,930 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Illinois sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $50,648 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Illinois then takes its own share, leaving $50,068.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Illinois is $71,290. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($56,710 to $94,930) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Illinois rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Illinois'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 $50,648 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 $50,068 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Illinois 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.