Best programs to become an architectural and civil drafter in Wisconsin
9 Wisconsin schools offer programs that train architectural and civil drafters, graduating 154 people a year. Architectural and civil drafters in Wisconsin earn a median of $62,930 across about 2,200 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
BLS lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for architectural and civil drafters. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Wisconsin are Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians; Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology; and Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD (IPEDS completions).
Prepare detailed drawings of architectural and structural features of buildings or drawings and topographical relief maps used in civil engineering projects, such as highways, bridges, and public works.
4 programs in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Wisconsin (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Wisconsin page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 15.0101In Wisconsin → | 81 | 52.6% | 7 | $50,625 | $21,717 |
| 2 | CIP 04.0902In Wisconsin → | 26 | 16.9% | 1 | $48,514 | $27,000 |
| 3 | CIP 15.1303In Wisconsin → | 26 | 16.9% | 2 | $44,946 | $12,992 |
| 4 | CIP 15.1302In Wisconsin → | 21 | 13.6% | 3 | $44,946 | $12,992 |
Top 9 schools in Wisconsin
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 9 schools in this state.
All 9 schools in Wisconsin
Every school in Wisconsin with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast Wisconsin Technical College | Green Bay | Public | 30 | 2 |
| Madison Area Technical College | Madison | Public | 26 | 1 |
| University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Northcentral Technical College | Wausau | Public | 20 | 2 |
| Northwood Technical College | Rice Lake | Public | 15 | 2 |
| Waukesha County Technical College | Pewaukee | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Gateway Technical College | Kenosha | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Western Technical College | La Crosse | Public | 9 | 2 |
| Milwaukee Area Technical College | Milwaukee | Public | 4 | 1 |
Fields of study in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What architectural and civil drafters earn in Wisconsin
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $66,150. Wisconsin pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Wisconsin
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Architectural and Civil Drafters page.
How to become an architectural and civil drafter
- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Wisconsin
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Architectural and Civil Drafters9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 04.0901Architectural Technology/Technician
- 04.0902Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology
- 04.0999Architectural Sciences and Technology, Other
- 15.0101Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians
- 15.1301Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General
- 15.1302CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician
- 15.1303Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD
- 15.1304Civil Drafting and Civil Engineering CAD/CADD
- 15.13073-D Modeling and Design Technology/Technician
Common questions
Answers for people weighing architectural and civil drafters programs in Wisconsin.
What degree do you need to become an architectural and civil drafter?+
BLS lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for architectural and civil drafters. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Wisconsin are Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians; Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology; and Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming an architectural and civil drafter?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Wisconsin are Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians; Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology; and Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD (IPEDS completions). In all, 4 feeder programs graduate about 154 people a year in Wisconsin (IPEDS completions).
How much do architectural and civil drafters earn in Wisconsin?+
The median is $62,930 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.9% below the U.S. median of $66,150. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for architectural and civil drafters growing?+
BLS projects a +4.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 10,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Wisconsin?+
9 institutions in Wisconsin reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do architectural and civil drafters work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Draftsman, Civil Drafter, Architectural Drafter, Computer-Aided Drafting Designer (CAD Designer) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-3011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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