Talent Maps / Dallas-Fort Worth / CAD Designers and Drafters

Dallas-Fort Worth CAD Designer and Drafter Talent Map (2026)

What CAD designers and drafters earn in Dallas-Fort Worth, the employers and software in demand, real posted pay ranges and where new drafters are trained.

Hiring CAD designers in DFW?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers CAD designers and drafters in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, across civil, architectural, mechanical and electrical work. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), alongside real pay ranges from DFW job postings in 2026. Our CAD recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our CAD designer salary guide and our DFW civil engineer and architect talent maps.

$83,200Median pay for mechanical drafters in DFW, against $71,550 nationallyBLS, May 2025

$83,100Median pay for electrical and electronics drafters in DFWBLS, May 2025

$66,890Median pay for architectural and civil drafters in DFWBLS, May 2025

15%Projected growth in Texas architectural and civil drafting jobs, 2024 to 2034Projections Central

1,390Projected architectural and civil drafting openings a year in TexasProjections Central

$145,200Top of the posted range for a senior substation designer in Fort WorthJacobs, September 2026

CAD designer and drafter salaries in Dallas-Fort Worth

Pay depends heavily on the specialty. Mechanical and electrical drafters in DFW earn medians above $83,000, well above national rates, driven by aerospace, manufacturing and power work. Architectural and civil drafters earn a median of $66,890, close to the national figure.

Specialty (DFW metro)	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	US median
Mechanical drafters	$56,440	$71,740	$83,200	$93,600	$94,260	$71,550
Electrical and electronics drafters	$51,000	$63,330	$83,100	$96,730	$107,740	$76,870
Architectural and civil drafters	$46,790	$54,600	$66,890	$83,220	$100,090	$66,150
Civil engineering technicians	$46,010	$49,850	$65,360	$76,810	$92,360	$64,950
Drafters, all other	$36,340	$49,050	$61,200	$76,520	$97,300	$63,520

Annual pay. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine.

What DFW CAD jobs are posting in 2026

Employer and role	Software	Posted pay
Structural Technologies (VSL), CAD Designer, Fort Worth	AutoCAD, Inventor, SolidWorks	$28 an hour
Atwell, Designer, Substations, Dallas	AutoCAD, MicroStation	$30 to $50 an hour
Core States Group, Civil Engineering Designer, Frisco	Civil 3D	$33 to $44 an hour
Hazen and Sawyer, CAD/BIM Designer, Dallas	Revit MEP, AutoCAD	$60,000 to $90,000
Carrier, Designer, Fort Worth	Creo, Windchill	$64,500 to $129,500
Jacobs, Senior Substation Designer, Fort Worth	Substation design	$110,600 to $145,200

Postings live in 2026. Some are open to more than one office, so the ranges reflect wider markets as well as DFW.

What the postings show: power and substation designers are among the best paid in the market, because Oncor’s grid build-out and the data center boom need them at the same time. See our DFW electrical engineer talent map.

The software DFW employers ask for

MicroStation and OpenRoads Designer for TxDOT work. TxDOT requires all new projects to use its 10.12 workspace, built on OpenRoads Designer and MicroStation CONNECT Edition, and runs its own training courses.
AutoCAD remains the baseline for almost every posting.
Civil 3D for land development, utilities and private site work.
Revit for architecture and MEP design, especially in BIM-driven firms.
Creo, Inventor and SolidWorks for manufacturing and product design.

Where DFW’s CAD designers work

Engineering and design firms

Jacobs and AECOM are headquartered in Dallas, and Freese and Nichols in Fort Worth. Halff has four Metroplex offices, and Kimley-Horn hires civil and substation designers in Richardson and Frisco.

Atwell, Hazen and Sawyer and Core States Group also hire designers in the metro.

Power and utilities

Primoris is headquartered in Dallas and runs its power line services business from Fort Worth. Substation, transmission and distribution designers are in heavy demand across the grid build-out.

Manufacturing and aerospace

Lockheed Martin hires tool designers in Fort Worth, and Bell is headquartered there. Carrier, Collins Aerospace in Richardson, Lennox in Richardson and Peterbilt in Denton all hire mechanical designers.

Architecture firms

HKS and Corgan are headquartered in Dallas, and national firms run large Dallas studios. They hire Revit and BIM designers. See our DFW architect talent map.

Where new drafters are trained

Dallas College. A 60-credit-hour computer-aided design and drafting associate degree at Eastfield and Mountain View, costing about $5,940 for in-county students, plus architectural, civil and mechanical certificates. The civil drafting certificate teaches AutoCAD and Civil 3D.
Tarrant County College. A 60-credit-hour drafting and design associate degree in building and civil technology at the South Campus.
Collin College. A 60-credit-hour computer-aided drafting and design associate degree, two certificates and an AutoCAD skills award.
TSTC North Texas. Texas State Technical College’s Red Oak campus offers drafting and design.
Growth. Texas is projected to grow from 13,130 architectural and civil drafting jobs in 2024 to 15,100 in 2034, while mechanical and electrical drafting jobs stay roughly flat.

What this means if you’re hiring

Hire for the software. A strong Civil 3D designer is not automatically a strong OpenRoads or Revit designer. List the platform in the job title.
Pay by specialty. Mechanical, electrical and substation designers earn far more than general drafters. Price the role against its specialty, not a single CAD median.
Test before you hire. A short drawing-set exercise shows more than a resume. Read our guide on how to hire a CAD designer.
Use the colleges. Dallas College, Tarrant County College and Collin College produce entry-level drafters every year.

Need CAD designers in Dallas-Fort Worth?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineering and design talent since 2010. Our recruiting teams place CAD designers, drafters and BIM specialists on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 214.257.7733 or see our Dallas engineering recruiters page.

Hire CAD designers

Frequently asked questions

How much do CAD designers make in Dallas-Fort Worth?

It depends on the specialty. In DFW, mechanical drafters earn a median of $83,200, electrical drafters $83,100 and architectural and civil drafters $66,890, according to May 2025 BLS data. Senior substation designers were posted at up to $145,200 in 2026.

What CAD software does TxDOT use?

TxDOT requires new projects to use its 10.12 workspace, built on Bentley’s OpenRoads Designer and MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

Where can I study drafting in Dallas-Fort Worth?

Dallas College, Tarrant County College and Collin College all offer associate degrees in computer-aided drafting and design, and TSTC teaches drafting and design in Red Oak.

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