The local economy of Kansas and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
3.8%
+0.1 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Sheridan County 2.9%, highest Bourbon County 6.3%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,286
+3.1%vs a year ago
1,425,330 jobs at 102,222 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
12,159
+34.6%this year vs last year
Most in Johnson County 4,396, Sedgwick County 3,649.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-4,059
-1.7 per 1,000residents
71,876 moved in and 75,935 moved out. Most newcomers came from Missouri.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Kansas gas price
$4.03
+$1.24vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Republic County $3.80, highest Lincoln County $4.60. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Kansas, October 10, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
76K
+0.2%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
1.25M
+1.9%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (15.8%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$71.1B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$56,950
Highest sector: Management of Companies and Enterprises $122,673.
Per employee per year
Share of Kansas's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 101,514 | $19,842 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 57,406 | $69,302 |
| Employment Services | 51,453 | $46,453 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | 27,939 | $91,136 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 25,371 | $30,179 |
| Grocery Stores | 23,754 | $25,377 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 23,542 | $70,867 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 22,458 | $122,673 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 21,354 | $69,558 |
| Offices of Physicians | 21,203 | $98,998 |
| Warehousing and Storage | 20,919 | $43,274 |
| Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 19,571 | $60,595 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $90,000 a year in 2,085 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Kansas, up 3.0% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Software Developers. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$90,000
+3.0%vs 2024
Middle half: $72,114 to $117,437.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
2,085
+7.1%vs 2024
2,351 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$96,400
Software Developers, 583 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$29,120
-56.3%vs 2024
848 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in Kansas, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 583 | $96,400 |
| Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians | 116 | $99,100 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 104 | $79,950 |
| Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists | 76 | $64,854 |
| Data Scientists | 71 | $90,000 |
| Mechanical Engineers | 61 | $85,388 |
| Industrial Engineers | 58 | $88,750 |
| Computer Programmers | 54 | $75,098 |
| Civil Engineers | 49 | $89,775 |
| Electrical Engineers | 48 | $105,000 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile USA, Inc. TMUS | 71 | 1 |
| University of Kansas Medical Center | 68 | 3 |
| The University of Kansas | 55 | 2 |
| Garmin International Inc. | 53 | 1 |
| Mphasis Corporation MPHASIS.NS | 49 | 1 |
| Kansas State University | 45 | 3 |
| The University of Kansas Physicians | 37 | 2 |
| SecureNet Systems Corporation | 36 | 1 |
| U.S.D. 501, Topeka Public Schools | 36 | 1 |
| Kiewit Engineering Group Inc. | 34 | 1 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overland Park | 705 | $95,701 | $81,765 to $120,000 |
| Topeka | 237 | $81,600 | $65,000 to $100,000 |
| Wichita | 199 | $85,987 | $72,036 to $118,656 |
| Lenexa | 146 | $92,435 | $73,000 to $115,125 |
| Kansas City | 139 | $120,000 | $72,748 to $240,178 |
| Olathe | 119 | $118,227 | $96,400 to $130,551 |
| Lawrence | 77 | $80,109 | $65,000 to $96,579 |
| Leawood | 51 | $101,379 | $83,500 to $144,284 |
| Manhattan | 51 | $60,778 | $52,020 to $78,792 |
| Garden City | 28 | $47,000 | $47,000 to $47,000 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of Kansas added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
Kansas has had 96 declared disasters and emergencies since 1955, 73 of them since 2000, most often Severe Storm. Flood insurance has paid $116.8 million on 7,901 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 1998 ($18.3 million).
Declared disasters
73
51 major disasters. Most often Severe Storm (50 since 1955).
Since 2000, all types; 96 since 1955
Flood claims paid
$27.7M
963 claims. Biggest year 1998 ($18.3M).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
6,865
Average premium $995 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
25
Edwards County, latest Sep 1, 2026.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for Kansas, 1955 to today
Claims paid in Kansas by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1955
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 15 of 74.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sedgwick County | 990 | $14.7M | 1,572 |
| 2 | Johnson County | 1,155 | $13.2M | 887 |
| 3 | Butler County | 507 | $12.7M | 304 |
| 4 | Wyandotte County | 434 | $10.8M | 237 |
| 5 | Riley County | 406 | $9.23M | 476 |
| 6 | Montgomery County | 311 | $5.75M | 180 |
| 7 | Saline County | 240 | $4.61M | 317 |
| 8 | Shawnee County | 368 | $3.99M | 1,178 |
| 9 | Sumner County | 211 | $3.72M | 165 |
| 10 | Allen County | 91 | $3.34M | 96 |
| 11 | Harvey County | 403 | $3.22M | 280 |
| 12 | Leavenworth County | 208 | $2.98M | 209 |
| 13 | Bourbon County | 64 | $2.44M | 30 |
| 14 | Barton County | 513 | $2.33M | 167 |
| 15 | Cowley County | 142 | $2.11M | 92 |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in Kansas, from official public data.
Official public data lists 6,242 facilities in Kansas with records since 2010, 6,165 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Coffeyville Resources Refining and Marketing, LLC in Coffeyville ($14,341,392). 164 large facilities reported 32.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, down 10.3% from 2022.
Facilities with records
6,242
6,165 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$14.3M
Coffeyville Resources Refining and Marketing, LLC, Coffeyville.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
32.8M t
-10.3%vs 2022
164 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
6.70M t
La Cygne Generating Station, Lacygne.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Coffeyville Resources Refining and Marketing, LLC Coffeyville | $14,341,392 | 0 |
| Certainteed, Kansas City Plant Kansas City | $781,175 | 7 |
| Mid-Continent Fractionation and Storage Conway Fra Mcpherson | $311,850 | 1 |
| Enterprise Precast Concrete of Kansas Kansas City | $268,000 | 0 |
| Spirit Aerosystems - Wichita Wichita | $189,000 | 15 |
| Plastic Packaging Technologies Kansas City | $182,879 | 16 |
| Oak Grove Landfill Arcadia | $146,894 | 1 |
| Rivers Edge Scrap Management Kansas City | $144,500 | 4 |
| Cobalt Boats LLC Neodesha | $133,780 | 7 |
| Allmetal Recycling Wichita | $125,000 | 0 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| La Cygne Generating Station Lacygne | 6,695,259 |
| Jeffrey Energy Center St. Marys | 6,117,109 |
| Frontier El Dorado Refining CO El Dorado | 1,851,451 |
| Westar Energy, INC. Lawrence | 1,824,440 |
| Crnf - Coffeyville Coffeyville | 1,640,985 |
| Sunflower Electric - Holcomb Holcomb | 1,622,104 |
| Ash Grove Cement Co-Chanute Plant Chanute | 1,299,990 |
| National Cooperative Refinery Association Mcpherson | 1,248,856 |
| Coffeyville Resources Refining and Marketing, LLC Coffeyville | 1,000,741 |
| Monarch Cement CO Humboldt | 939,681 |
Large facilities in Kansas, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in Kansas, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GFL Environmental Inc. GFL | 1 | $147K | 35K |
| Owens Corning OC | 1 | $121K | 55K |
| Waste Management, Inc. WM | 3 | $34K | 158K |
| HF Sinclair Corporation DINO | 1 | $31K | 1.85M |
| Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN | 11 | $3,750 | - |
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK-B | 7 | $0 | 255K |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
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. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Kansas, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
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.
Regular gasoline in Kansas averaged $4.03 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $1.24 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.01. Among its counties, Republic County had the lowest regular price ($3.80) and Lincoln County the highest ($4.60).
Health Care and Social Assistance (197,779 employees), Manufacturing (170,492 employees), Retail Trade (144,418 employees) were the largest sectors in Kansas in 2023. In all, 76,139 business locations employed 1,248,825 people at an average pay of $56,950 a year.
$90,000 a year was the median pay offered in 2,085 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Kansas in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), up 3.0% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $72,114 to $117,437. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
T-Mobile USA, Inc. (71), University of Kansas Medical Center (68), The University of Kansas (55), Garmin International Inc. (53), Mphasis Corporation (49) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in Kansas in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Software Developers (583 filings, median $96,400), Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians (116 filings, median $99,100), Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (104 filings, median $79,950) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in Kansas in fiscal year 2025.
$120,000 was the median offered pay in Kansas City, the highest among the Kansas cities with the most H-1B filings in fiscal year 2025 (139 filings).
$29,120 a year was the median pay offered in 848 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in Kansas in fiscal year 2025.
96 disasters and emergencies have been declared for Kansas since 1955, 73 of them since 2000 (51 major disasters). The most common type is Severe Storm (50 declarations).
Edwards County, with 25 declarations since 2000, followed by Pawnee County (25) and Morris County (24). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$116.8 million on 7,901 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 1998, with $18.3 million paid on 665 claims. Sedgwick County received the most ($14.7 million).
$995 a year in 2025, across 6,865 flood insurance policies in Kansas. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.