Kansas by the numbers
In Kansas, the median worker earns $46,850 a year, the typical home is worth $203,400 and carries $2,643 of property tax, and the average household pays $130 a month for electricity at 15.13¢ per kilowatt-hour.
Midwest SPP Regulated monopoly
Energy
Kansas has an outstanding wind resource and has built a great deal of wind capacity, which pushes marginal energy costs down. Against that sit two significant fixed costs: the Wolf Creek nuclear station, whose capital and operating costs are recovered from a relatively small ratepayer base, and an extensive transmission programme built to move western Kansas wind east.
Kansas transmission investment was aggressive, early, and recovered through a mechanism that allowed relatively rapid cost recovery. That infrastructure is part of why SPP can move as much wind as it does, but Kansas ratepayers paid for a network that benefits a wider region.
The merger that created Evergy was followed by a period of regulatory scrutiny over whether promised savings materialised, and rate cases since have been closely fought.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, Kansas households used 872 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $130. At the state median wage that is about 5.8 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, gas is still cheaper to run than a heat pump here, by about $0.70 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median Kansas worker earned $46,850 in 2024, 5.4% below the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers | 34.31× | $57,970 |
| Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic | 11.27× | $76,730 |
| Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians | 7.75× | $76,130 |
| Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians | 5.68× | $49,450 |
| Recreational Therapists | 5.07× | $39,690 |
Property tax
The median Kansas homeowner pays $2,643 a year on a home worth $203,400, an effective rate of 1.30% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 67 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in Kansas run at 90.1 where the national average is 100, ranking it #41 of 51. Goods sit at 94.0, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 71.2, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $46,850 therefore buys what $51,998 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: Kansas City (92.5) , Lawrence (90.2) , Manhattan (90.2) , Wichita (88.9) , Topeka (88.8) .
Housing
House prices in Kansas rose 3.2% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +92.6%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Metro areas tracked here: Kansas City (+2.8%) .
Who supplies the power
20 utilities report residential service in Kansas, together serving 1.1 million customers. Regulated monopoly.
Kansas: common questions
What does it cost to live in Kansas?
Prices overall run at 90.1 against a national average of 100, with rents at 71.2. The typical home is worth $203,400 and carries $2,643 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.30% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $130 a month at 15.13¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $46,850.
What is the property tax rate in Kansas?
The effective rate is 1.30% of home value, from a median bill of $2,643. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 67 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in Kansas?
The median wage of $46,850 buys what $51,998 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line Kansas falls on.
Is Kansas expensive for electricity?
It ranks #34 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 15.13¢ per kilowatt-hour, -18.0% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 39 of 51, because households there use 872 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in Kansas?
$46,850 across all occupations, about $22.53 an hour, covering 1,431,180 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in Kansas?
20 utilities report residential service, the largest being Evergy Kansas Central, Inc with 341,806 customers. Regulated monopoly.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources