The local economy of Kansas and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
3.8%
August 2026, 3.7% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,286
Q1 2026, 1,425,330 jobs
New homes permitted
12,159
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-4,059
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Kansas, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Kansas is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Kansas was 3.8% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 3.7% a year earlier. 1,494,369 people were employed out of a labor force of 1,553,281. Among its counties, Sheridan County had the lowest rate (2.9%) and Bourbon County the highest (6.3%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Kansas was $1,286 in Q1 2026, up 3.1% from a year earlier, across 1,425,330 jobs at 102,222 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 882 new homes in Kansas in August 2026 (607 single-family and 111 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 9,037, up 34.6% from the same months last year, and 12,159 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Johnson County (4,396), Sedgwick County (3,649), Wyandotte County (552) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 71,876 people moved to Kansas and 75,935 moved away, a net loss of 4,059 (-1.7 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Missouri, Texas, Colorado, and most people who left went to Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Kansas. In its region, Midwest, regular gasoline averaged $4.29 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.