Registered Nurses in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,494
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$18,826
23.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,242
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
$79,320
Kept after tax
$60,494
Worth in national money
$67,242
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kansas is among the lower-paying states for registered nurses. The middle earner takes $79,320, ranking 46 of 51 states — about 18.69% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Kansas. It ranks 101 out of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Kansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $79,320 the take-home is $60,494; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $67,242 would nationally. The average comes to $82,360, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Kansas ranks 46 of 51 for registered nurses, with a median of $79,320 — about 18.69% 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.
- Within Kansas, registered nurses ranks 101 of 488 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for registered nurses in Kansas, on $79,320, is $60,494 — equivalent to $67,242 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 $82,360 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Registered Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,840 |
| This salary | $79,320 |
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 | $60,494 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,632 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$731 |
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 | $73,439 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,010 |
| 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 $79,320. The published range is $63,180 up to $100,840, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $60,494 take-home in Kansas comes from $79,320. 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 101 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $67,242 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 101.
- Reported values are medians; for registered nurses in Kansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,180 to $100,840. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $60,494, from $79,320, 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 101 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $67,242, worked from $79,320, 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 101 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 $82,360 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $63,180 at the bottom tenth to $100,840 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $67,242.
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 $60,494.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $82,360. 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 ($63,180 to $100,840) 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 $67,242 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 $60,494 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.