Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,065
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$10,555
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,645
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
$51,620
Kept after tax
$41,065
Worth in national money
$45,645
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kansas pays this job a middle wage of $51,620, 41 of 51 states and about 13.75% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Kansas reports figures for, this is number 264.
- Kansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $51,620 the take-home is $41,065; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $45,645 would nationally. The average comes to $57,540, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kansas's $51,620 median for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators places it 41 of 51 states, about 13.75% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In Kansas's occupational distribution, operating engineers and other construction equipment operators sits at 264 of 488 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Kansas, on $51,620, is $41,065 — equivalent to $45,645 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 $57,540 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $85,420 |
| This salary | $51,620 |
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 | $41,065 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,657 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$720 |
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 | $48,394 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$870 |
| 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 operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Kansas earn under $51,620 and half over. The published range runs $39,520 at the tenth percentile to $85,420 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Kansas the take-home figure of $41,065, from $51,620, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 264 of 488 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,645, the adjusted value of that $51,620 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 264 of 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in Kansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,520 to $85,420; 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.
- Take-home for Kansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $41,065 from $51,620. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 264 of 488 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kansas, so $45,645 — the adjusted value of that $51,620 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 264 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $57,540, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $39,520, the highest tenth $85,420, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $45,645.
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 $41,065.
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 $57,540. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($39,520) and the ninetieth ($85,420) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $45,645 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 $41,065 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.