Mechanical Engineers in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,989
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$21,271
24.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,238
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
$86,260
Kept after tax
$64,989
Worth in national money
$72,238
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kansas is among the lower-paying states for mechanical engineers. The middle earner takes $86,260, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 17.15% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Kansas this is well-paid work. Of 488 occupations with published figures in the state, mechanical engineers ranks 76 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Kansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $86,260 the take-home is $64,989; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $72,238 would nationally. The average comes to $97,840, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kansas ranks 50 of 51 for mechanical engineers, with a median of $86,260 — about 17.15% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Ranked against every occupation Kansas publishes a median for, mechanical engineers sits 76 of 488 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for mechanical engineers in Kansas, on $86,260, is $64,989 — equivalent to $72,238 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $97,840 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mechanical Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $72,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $86,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,660 |
| This salary | $86,260 |
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 | $64,989 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $69,514 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$704 |
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 | $79,828 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$972 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kansas earn less than $86,260. The published range is $72,210 up to $131,660, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kansas's $64,989, worked from $86,260. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 76 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,238 uses one figure for the whole of Kansas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 76.
- Reported values are medians; for mechanical engineers in Kansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $72,210 to $131,660. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kansas take-home of $64,989, on $86,260 for work ranking 76 of 488 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 76 of 488 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,238, worked from $86,260, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Kansas address, on work sitting at 76 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $97,840 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $72,210 at the tenth percentile, $131,660 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Kansas sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $72,238 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $64,989.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Kansas is $97,840. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($72,210 to $131,660) 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 $72,238 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 $64,989 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.