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Mechanical Drafters pay in Boulder, CO and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Mechanical Drafters is $102,710 per year in Boulder, CO. It is $78,820 per year in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. Boulder, CO is 30.3% above Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 17-3013 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 60 wage and salary jobs in Boulder, CO and 1,300 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings