Mechanical Drafters in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,802
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$16,288
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,716
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — 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
$73,090
Kept after tax
$56,802
Worth in national money
$57,716
State rank
15
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Minnesota pays mechanical drafters a middle wage of $73,090, ranking 15 of 47 states and sitting about 2.15% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Minnesota, this sits in the middle: 212 of 490 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- No great distortion either way. Minnesota costs about what the country costs, so from $73,090, take-home of $56,802 is worth roughly $57,716 in national money. The average comes to $73,850, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Minnesota's median for mechanical drafters is $73,090, about 2.15% above the national figure and 15 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Mechanical drafters ranks 212 of 490 occupations in Minnesota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Price parity in Minnesota is near the national base, so for mechanical drafters, whose median is $73,090, the adjusted figure of $57,716 differs little from $56,802 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $73,850 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Mechanical Drafters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $73,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,080 |
| This salary | $73,090 |
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 Minnesota | $56,802 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,249 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,285 |
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 | $68,191 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,918 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Minnesota earn less than $73,090. The published range is $52,380 up to $100,080, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Minnesota the take-home figure of $56,802, from $73,090, 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 212 of 490 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $57,716, the adjusted value of that $73,090 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Minnesota. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 212 of 490 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for mechanical drafters in Minnesota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $52,380 to $100,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Minnesota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $56,802 from $73,090. 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 212 of 490 locally.
- This $57,716 adjusted figure, worked from $73,090, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 212 of 490 in the state. The occupation ranks 212 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $52,380 at the tenth percentile, $100,080 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 $57,716.
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; Minnesota then takes its own share, leaving $56,802.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($52,380 to $100,080) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Minnesota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Minnesota'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 $57,716 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 $56,802 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota 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.