Free tool
The cost of hiring an architect, line by line
Salary is only the start. Add benefits, recruiting, software and the desk, with a public source behind every US number, and see the yearly total you can put next to a quote for a remote professional. Pick a role and every number updates.
By Malena BruggerSales Coordinator
Calculate the cost of your next hire
It opens on a BIM Modeler at the national median. Change the role or any field: the math runs in your browser and nothing you type leaves this page.
US employee, first year: $99,403. See the full estimate
Your estimate
BIM Modeler
US employee, first year
$99,403
About $8,284 a month. From year two, without the one time costs: $98,203 a year.
Remote professional
WorldTeams quotes each role for your firm. Put that quote next to this total.
| Salary | $66,150 |
|---|---|
| Benefits (42.9%) | $28,378 |
| Recruiting, one time | $1,200 |
| Software licenses | $3,675 |
| Total, first year | $99,403 |
Worked example: an architect at the national median
With the calculator’s defaults and no office costs, an architect at the national median costs $146,746 in the first year, about $12,229 a month. From year two it is $145,546 a year.
| Line | Per year |
|---|---|
| Salary (BLS median, Architects, Except Landscape and Naval) | $99,280 |
| Benefits at 42.9% of salary | $42,591 |
| Recruiting (SHRM median), one time | $1,200 |
| Software (AEC Collection) | $3,675 |
| First year total | $146,746 |
How each line is calculated
Every US default comes from a public source you can check. Here is where each line comes from and what the total leaves out.
First year cost = salary + benefits + recruiting + empty weeks + software + office, computer and IT.
From year two, recruiting and the empty weeks drop out. Remote, estimated = the monthly range times 12, plus software when the box is checked.
Salary
The default is the national median annual wage from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, for the official category closest to each role. BLS classifies jobs by duties, not by title, so it has no category for BIM modelers, Revit technicians or BIM managers; the calculator says which category it uses for each role. OEWS annual wages assume a full year of 2,080 hours at straight time pay, and they leave out overtime and year end bonuses. Every percentile and 15 states are in our architect salary guide.
Benefits
BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026: in private industry, employers spent $46.89per hour worked, and $14.07 of it (30.0%) went to benefits. That covers paid leave, supplemental pay such as bonuses, insurance, retirement and savings, and legally required costs such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. If benefits are 30.0% of the total, wages are 70.0%, so benefits add 30.0% ÷ 70.0% = 42.9% on top of salary. The field uses 42.9%.
In professional, scientific and technical services, the sector that includes architecture and engineering firms, the share is 31.7%, which is 46.4% on top of salary. Type that in if you want the sector figure. Because OEWS leaves bonuses out of salary and ECEC counts them as a benefit, the two add up without counting anything twice.
Recruiting
SHRM’s 2025 benchmarking data puts the median cost per hire at $1,200 for nonexecutive roles and $10,625 for executive roles. SHRM counts agency fees, advertising, job fairs, job boards, referral costs, travel, relocation, recruiter pay and talent acquisition software, divided by the number of hires. It is a median across all industries and all nonexecutive jobs, so if you pay an agency for this search, put its fee in the field instead.
Weeks the desk sits empty
In the same SHRM data, the median time to fill was 44 days for nonexecutive roles and 45for executive roles, counted in calendar days from opening the job to the accepted offer. While the desk is empty you pay no salary, but the work waits or goes to overtime, and what that costs depends on your firm. So the field starts at zero. If you add weeks, each one is priced at the role’s weekly salary plus benefits: a floor, since a firm hires because the work is worth at least that.
Software licenses
The default is Autodesk’s US list price for the AEC Collection, which bundles Revit, AutoCAD and other design tools: $3,675 a year for one user, paid annually, as shown on autodesk.com in September 2026. Change it if your team uses another package or has a volume agreement. The calculator counts licenses on the remote side too, because WorldTeams engagements do not include software licenses: they stay with your firm either way.
Office, computer and IT
We found no public benchmark solid enough to use as a default for what a desk costs a US architecture firm, so this field starts blank. Your rent per seat, a workstation spread over the years you keep it and IT support are the usual pieces. It only counts for a hire who works from your office.
The remote side
WorldTeams quotes each role for your firm, so the remote side is a quote and not a number on this page. When you compare, count software on both sides: licenses stay with your firm either way.
What the total leaves out
Raises during the year, the hours your team spends interviewing and onboarding, overtime premiums and the cost of a hire that does not work out. None of them has a public figure solid enough to use as a default, so none is in the total. If you track them, add them to the recruiting line or the office line, whichever fits.
What a US hire costs, role by role
The nine roles in the calculator at the BLS median, with the same defaults.
Slide the table sideways to see every column.
| Role | BLS category used | Median salary | Salary and benefits | First year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIM Modeler | Architectural and Civil Drafters | $66,150 | $94,528 | $99,403 |
| Architect | Architects, Except Landscape and Naval | $99,280 | $141,871 | $146,746 |
| Architectural Designer | Architectural and Civil Drafters | $66,150 | $94,528 | $99,403 |
| CAD Drafter | Architectural and Civil Drafters | $66,150 | $94,528 | $99,403 |
| Revit Technician | Architectural and Civil Drafters | $66,150 | $94,528 | $99,403 |
| Project Architect | Architects, Except Landscape and Naval | $99,280 | $141,871 | $146,746 |
| MEP Engineer | Mechanical Engineers | $104,110 | $148,773 | $153,648 |
| Structural Engineer | Civil Engineers | $100,840 | $144,100 | $148,975 |
| BIM Manager | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $171,270 | $244,745 | $249,620 |
First year total = salary + benefits at 42.9% + $1,200 recruiting + $3,675 software, with no office costs or empty weeks. Several roles share a BLS category, so they share a salary; the calculator lets you move each one to the 25th or 75th percentile.
Get a real number for your role
Tell WorldTeams the role, the software and the hours, and get a quote you can put next to your US hire.
Questions, answered
How much does it cost to hire an architect in the US?
An architect at the national median earns $99,280 a year (BLS, May 2025). Add benefits at 42.9% of salary and the yearly cost is about $141,871. With recruiting at SHRM's $1,200 median and one Autodesk AEC Collection license at $3,675, the first year comes to about $146,746, before office space or any agency fee. Pay by percentile and state is in our architect salary guide.
How do you calculate the true cost of an employee?
Start with base salary and add benefits, which BLS measures at 30.0% of what private employers spend on compensation, or 42.9% on top of wages. Then add the one time costs, recruiting and the weeks the seat sits empty, and the yearly costs per seat: software licenses, a computer, desk space and IT. The calculator on this page adds every line and shows each one separately, so you can replace any default with your own number.
What percentage of salary do employee benefits cost?
For private industry in June 2026, BLS counts $14.07 of benefits in every $46.89 an employer spends per hour worked, which is 30.0% of total compensation. Measured against wages alone, that is 42.9%. In professional, scientific and technical services, the sector that includes architecture and engineering firms, the share is 31.7%, or about 46.4% on top of wages. Benefits here include paid leave, bonuses, insurance, retirement and legally required costs.
How much does it cost to recruit a new employee?
SHRM's 2025 benchmarking puts the median cost per hire at $1,200 for nonexecutive roles and $10,625 for executive roles. That figure spreads agency fees, advertising, job boards, referrals, travel, relocation and recruiter pay across all hires. The median nonexecutive role took 44 days to fill. A firm that pays a recruiting agency for a single architect search should use that fee in its own math rather than the median.
Is a remote architect cheaper than a US hire?
It depends on the role and on counting the same costs on both sides. Software licenses stay with your firm either way, because WorldTeams engagements do not include them, and your licensed staff still review and stamp the drawings. The calculator gives you the full yearly cost of the US hire, line by line. For a remote number you can budget against, ask WorldTeams for a quote for your role and hours.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; BLS, OEWS frequently asked questions (wage definition, survey design); BLS, Standard Occupational Classification User Guide; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026; SHRM, 2025 Recruiting Executives Benchmarking data brief; Autodesk, AEC Collection pricing.
Last updated September 23, 2026.