Construction Laborers in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,995
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$8,845
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,010
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$44,840
Kept after tax
$35,995
Worth in national money
$40,010
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for construction laborers is on the low side in Kansas. The middle earner gets $44,840. That is 38 of 51 states, and about 4.84% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in Kansas, this sits in the middle: 353 of 488 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $44,840 you keep $35,995 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $40,010 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $45,580, since top earners drag the number up.
- For construction laborers, Kansas sits in the lower band at $44,840, ranking 38 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 4.84%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Construction laborers ranks 353 of 488 occupations in Kansas by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in Kansas is $35,995 after the full tax stack, from $44,840. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $40,010 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $45,580 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Construction Laborers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,070 |
| This salary | $44,840 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Kansas | $35,995 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,209 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$691 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $42,085 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$835 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of construction laborers in Kansas earn under $44,840 and half over. The published range runs $31,500 at the tenth percentile to $60,070 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $35,995 take-home in Kansas comes from $44,840. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 353 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $40,010, the adjusted value of that $44,840 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 353 of 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for construction laborers in Kansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,500 to $60,070; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $35,995, from $44,840, assumes a single Kansas filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 353 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kansas, so $40,010 — the adjusted value of that $44,840 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 353 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,500 and the top tenth $60,070, so most people doing this work in Kansas sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Kansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $40,010 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Kansas then takes its own share, leaving $35,995.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,500 to $60,070) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $40,010 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $35,995 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.