Average Drafting Supervisor Salary in Kenya for 2026
A drafting supervisor in Kenya earns about 1,537,500 KES a year. That's 13% below the national average of 1,765,300 KES.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Kenya sit around 707,700 KES a year, while the very top stretches to 2,447,200 KES. Everything on this page is in Kenyan shilling (KES, symbol Sh), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Kenya, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does a drafting supervisor make in Kenya?
A typical drafting supervisor working in Kenya brings home around 128,125 KES a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 707,700 KES, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 2,447,200 KES for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior drafting supervisor working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How drafting supervisor pay ranges in Kenya
A good way to think about salary in Kenya is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all drafting supervisors in Kenya earn less than 1,668,900 KES a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 1,065,800 KES (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 2,221,600 KES (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of drafting supervisors sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 707,700 KES. The highest stretch to 2,447,200 KES, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Drafting supervisor pay by experience in Kenya
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a drafting supervisor in Kenya, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical drafting supervisor salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years805,900 KES
- 2-5 Years+33% from previous1,075,700 KES
- 5-10 Years+47% from previous1,583,700 KES
- 10-15 Years+22% from previous1,930,500 KES
- 15-20 Years+9% from previous2,110,600 KES
- 20+ Years+8% from previous2,281,800 KES
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 47%. That is the point at which a drafting supervisor typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Drafting supervisor pay by education in Kenya
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving drafting supervisor pay in Kenya. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average drafting supervisor salary in Kenya broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- Certificate or Diploma917,700 KES
- Bachelor's Degree+57% from previous1,440,700 KES
- Master's Degree+67% from previous2,411,500 KES
Drafting supervisor gender pay gap in Kenya
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Kenya is no exception. Male drafting supervisors in Kenya earn an average of 1,655,500 KES a year, while female drafting supervisors earn around 1,428,800 KES. That works out to a 16% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Drafting Supervisor gender pay gap
14%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Kenya.
Pay raises for a drafting supervisor in Kenya
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Kenya sees a raise of about 7% every 29 months, which works out to roughly 3% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Kenya, the national average raise is around 4% every 29 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Kenya:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Travel
- Construction
- Education
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Drafting supervisor bonus rates in Kenya
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
16% of drafting supervisors in Kenya reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a drafting supervisor a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary. The remaining 84% of drafting supervisors reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Kenya
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Drafting supervisor: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Kenya is about 14% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
12%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Kenya on average.
Drafting supervisor salary by city in Kenya
Drafting supervisor pay is not even across Kenya. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Nairobi
- Mombasa
- Kisumu
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | City | 1,765,300 KES | 1,693,600 KES | 917,700-2,698,900 KES |
| Mombasa | City | 1,668,900 KES | 1,800,200 KES | 767,000-2,641,300 KES |
| Kisumu | City | 1,487,200 KES | 1,510,400 KES | 727,100-2,314,800 KES |
Drafting Supervisor in Kenya: FAQs
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How much does a drafting supervisor make per month in Kenya?
A drafting supervisor in Kenya earns about 128,125 KES a month before tax, based on an annual average of 1,537,500 KES.
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What's the salary range for a drafting supervisor in Kenya?
Entry-level drafting supervisors in Kenya start near 707,700 KES. Top-end pay reaches around 2,447,200 KES. The middle 50% of earners sit between 1,065,800 and 2,221,600 KES.
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Is the median drafting supervisor salary in Kenya higher or lower than the average?
The median is 1,668,900 KES, higher than the average of 1,537,500 KES. Half of drafting supervisors in Kenya earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for drafting supervisors in Kenya?
Men working as a drafting supervisor in Kenya earn around 16% more than women on average (1,655,500 vs 1,428,800 KES a year).
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Do drafting supervisors in Kenya get bonuses?
About 16% of drafting supervisors in Kenya reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary.
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Do drafting supervisors earn more in the public or private sector in Kenya?
In Kenya, the public sector pays a drafting supervisor about 14% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do drafting supervisors in Kenya get a pay raise?
A drafting supervisor in Kenya sees a raise of around 7% every 29 months, equivalent to roughly 3% a year.