Talent Maps / Miami / CAD Designers

Miami CAD Designer Talent Map (2026)

What CAD designers and drafters earn in metro Miami, which architecture firms, public owners and aerospace employers use them, where in South Florida they work, and the airport, water and tower projects competing for them.

Hiring CAD designers in Miami?

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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area, which spans Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. BLS does not publish a single CAD designer code, so the map uses the three drafter codes. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses project and employer data published from 2024 to 2026. Our CAD staffing page and recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Miami architect, mechanical and electrical engineer talent maps.

$61,720Median architectural and civil drafter pay in metro MiamiBLS, May 2025

$73,230Median mechanical drafter pay in metro MiamiBLS, May 2025

$12BModernization in Action program at Miami International AirportMiami-Dade Aviation Department, 2026

$8.9BCapital improvement program at Miami-Dade Water and SewerMiami-Dade County, 2026

$345MRoyal Caribbean Group’s Terminal G at PortMiamiCapital Analytics Associates

2,000Pratt & Whitney employees in West Palm BeachPalm Beach BDB, 2025 to 2026

CAD designer salaries in Miami

The median architectural and civil drafter in metro Miami earns $61,720 a year, $920 below the Florida median of $62,640 and $4,430 below the national median of $66,150. The hourly median is $29.67. The lower end is flat: the 10th and 25th percentiles are $43,680 and $43,860, nearly the same figure.

Annual pay percentile	Miami metro	Florida	United States
10th percentile	$43,680	$43,680	$46,260
25th percentile	$43,860	$48,380	$55,650
Median	$61,720	$62,640	$66,150
75th percentile	$77,160	$77,580	$80,870
90th percentile	$95,150	$95,150	$99,710

Architectural and Civil Drafters (SOC 17-3011). Electrical and Electronics Drafters are SOC 17-3012 and Mechanical Drafters are SOC 17-3013. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

The other two drafter groups pay differently. Mechanical drafters in metro Miami earn a median of $73,230, which is $5,180 above Florida’s $68,050 and $1,680 above the national $71,550. Pay runs from $46,510 at the 10th percentile to $103,590 at the 90th, and the hourly median is $35.21. Electrical and electronics drafters earn $65,020, which is $7,990 below Florida’s $73,010 and $11,850 below the national $76,870.

What the spread means in practice: Tampa pays more for architectural and civil drafters, $65,160 against $61,720 in Miami, a gap of $3,440. Tampa’s electrical drafter median is $66,910, $1,890 above Miami’s. Miami wins only on mechanical drafters, $73,230 against $72,170 in Tampa. Mechanical drafting is the best-paid of the three drafter tracks in metro Miami.

Where Miami’s CAD designers work

Architecture firms

Arquitectonica is headquartered in Miami and has an office in West Palm Beach. Kobi Karp Architecture designed The Cove Residences in Edgewater, 134 residences in 40 stories that broke ground in March 2026, and Behar Font & Partners designed Arbor in Coconut Grove. Revuelta Architecture International designed Pagani Residences in North Bay Village.

Public owners

The Miami-Dade Aviation Department is running a $12 billion program at Miami International Airport. Miami-Dade Water and Sewer runs an $8.9 billion capital program under a federal consent decree. PortMiami has five cruise berths with shore power.

Aerospace and manufacturing

Pratt & Whitney reported 2,000 employees in West Palm Beach and Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky 1,052 in Riviera Beach and West Palm Beach. Johnson Controls reported 741 in the Boca Raton and West Palm Beach area.

Developers and builders

Property Markets Group is building the 100-story Waldorf Astoria Miami. Lemartec-NV2A JV holds the $600.6 million design-build contract for Concourse K at the airport. Iron Mountain is building a 16 MW data center, MIA-1, in Miami-Dade.

Where the talent sits: Miami submarkets

Downtown and Brickell

ArchitecturalHigh-rise

The Waldorf Astoria Miami tower passed its 60th floor in February 2026. Miami Worldcenter earned LEED-ND certification in May 2026.

Miami International Airport

TerminalsMEP

Concourse D adds 17 gates by 2030, and a $46 million chiller plant at Satellite E is due in August 2027.

Edgewater, Mid-Beach and Coconut Grove

Residential

The Cove broke ground in March 2026 and The Perigon, designed by OMA New York, topped out the same month.

Palm Beach County

MechanicalAerospace

Pratt & Whitney, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris and Belcan Engineering Group are listed here, and Belcan has 396 employees in Palm Beach Gardens.

Broward

PortAviation

Port Everglades sits in Fort Lauderdale, and Embraer has a 31,000 square foot parts warehouse at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport.

What’s driving demand for CAD designers in Miami

Airport design work. Concourse K is in design under a $600.6 million design-build contract, Central Terminal Phase II design is due to finish in December 2027, and Concourse D construction starts in 2027.
Water and wastewater drawings. Miami-Dade Water and Sewer budgeted $789.985 million in capital spending for fiscal year 2025 to 2026, with $679.147 million for the South District plant expansion.
Residential towers. The March 2026 condo update lists The Cove, The Perigon, Pagani Residences and Arbor, and the Waldorf Astoria Miami is guided for the second quarter of 2028.
Cruise and port. Terminal G is a $345 million project, and PortMiami’s shore power program cost $125 million.
Engine and aerospace drafting. Pratt & Whitney’s West Palm Beach Engine Center added about 50,000 square feet in 2026, and the BDB counts more than 20,000 aviation, aerospace and engineering employees in Palm Beach County.
Data centers. Iron Mountain’s 16 MW MIA-1 topped out in September 2025 and is due to launch in 2026.

CAD specialties tied to these projects

Architectural drafters and designers for design firms and developers.
Civil and utility drafters for the airport, port and water programs.
Mechanical drafters for engine overhaul, manufacturing and HVAC.
Electrical and MEP drafters for airports, towers and data centers.

The talent pipeline

Broward College. It offers an A.S. in Engineering Technology with a Mechanical Design and Fabrication track, a Building Construction Technology A.S. and an Engineering Technology Electronics A.S.
Architecture schools. The University of Miami School of Architecture and FIU’s School of Architecture offer architecture degrees in Miami, and their graduates are one source of junior designers.
Licensing and pay guides. Engineers and architects are licensed by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers and the Florida Board of Architecture and Interior Design, the paths drafters follow if they move toward licensure. See our CAD designer salary and what a CAD drafter does pages.

What this means if you’re hiring

Know which drafter you need. Mechanical drafters earn $73,230, against $61,720 for architectural and civil and $65,020 for electrical.
Price architectural roles near $61,720. That is below both Florida and the nation, and Tampa pays $3,440 more.
Expect strong senior pay in mechanical. The 90th percentile for mechanical drafters is $103,590, against $95,150 for architectural and civil.
Plan for long design cycles. Concourse K design and the Central Terminal work run into 2027, so contract and contract-to-hire drafters suit the schedule. See our guide to hiring a CAD designer.

Need CAD designers in Miami?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place CAD designers, architectural, mechanical and electrical drafters on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 813.701.2797 or see our Miami engineering recruiters page.

Hire CAD designers

Frequently asked questions

How much do CAD designers make in Miami?

BLS has no single CAD designer code. In metro Miami, architectural and civil drafters earn a median of $61,720 a year, mechanical drafters $73,230 and electrical drafters $65,020, according to May 2025 BLS data.

Do CAD designers earn more in Miami or Tampa?

It depends on the drafter type. Tampa pays more for architectural and civil drafters, $65,160 against $61,720, and for electrical drafters, $66,910 against $65,020. Miami pays more for mechanical drafters, $73,230 against $72,170. See our Tampa CAD designer talent map.

Who hires CAD designers in Miami?

Architecture firms such as Arquitectonica, Kobi Karp Architecture and Behar Font & Partners, public owners such as the Miami-Dade Aviation Department and Miami-Dade Water and Sewer, and aerospace and manufacturing employers such as Pratt & Whitney, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky and Johnson Controls.

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