What skilled trades pay in Kansas, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 39 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is electrical lineworker at a $101,620 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Kansas pay page.
How Kansas compares
11 of the 41 trades we track in Kansas pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for wind turbine technician (+24%), tile setter (+9%) and insulation installer (+7%), and the biggest gaps for rigger (-32%) and drywall installer (-26%). Prices in Kansas's metros run about 10% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $922 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Kansas
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is pest control technician at $38,690.
Every trade in Kansas
Statewide medians and jobs, BLS OEWS May 2025. “vs. U.S.” compares with the typical U.S. metro median for the trade.
Where the jobs are
- Maintenance Technician: 12,730 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 9,990 jobs
- Landscaper: 9,480 jobs
- Construction Supervisor: 8,940 jobs
- Industrial Machinery Mechanic: 7,700 jobs
Kansas metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
6.2% of Kansas workers belong to a union (9.0% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Kansas who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in maintenance technician (86%), electrical lineworker (77%) and sheet metal worker (76%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 136 wage cases against construction employers in Kansas, recovering $1,213,027 in back wages for 939 workers.
DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, cases concluded 2018–2025. Counts only; employers aren't named here.
Safety inspections
In 2025, federal OSHA opened 269 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 33% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (3 after an accident or fatality); the rest were planned spot checks.
OSHA inspection data via the U.S. Department of Labor, construction (NAICS 23), inspections opened in 2025. Counts only.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Kansas metros with the most federal major disasters are Wichita (9), Topeka (8) and Manhattan (7) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Kansas, 131 employers and programs are approved for GI Bill on-the-job training and apprenticeships, across all fields. Veterans in an approved trade apprenticeship can get a monthly housing allowance on top of apprentice pay. Search approved employers with the VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, GI Bill Comparison Tool data, October 2026.
Common questions
What is the highest-paying skilled trade in Kansas?
Electrical Lineworker pays the most of the trades we track, with a $101,620 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by elevator installer and wind turbine technician.
Which trade has the most jobs in Kansas?
maintenance technicians, with about 12,730 jobs statewide, followed by construction laborers and landscapers.
Which Kansas city pays the trades best?
Topeka, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Lawrence.
Is construction hiring growing in Kansas?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 1.3% from a year earlier in Wichita, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and down 2.0% in Topeka.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Kansas 2026, payby.trade/report/ks/.”