Where does Kansas rank for Mechanical Engineer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Kansas ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Kansas?

P10 to P90 spans $66,450 to $132,630. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Is Kansas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Mechanical Engineers?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 89.9 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $91,770 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $102,071. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Mechanical Engineers comparing offers across regions.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Kansas?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Kansas.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Defense / aerospace vs auto vs HVAC mechanical engineer pay in Kansas?

BLS does not segment by industry. In {state}, defense and aerospace primes typically lead on base pay with strong total comp once retention/clearance bonuses layer in (often P75-P90 of the BLS band). Automotive and consumer products sit mid-band. HVAC / building-systems mechanical engineering pays below the BLS median for the first 5 years, then catches up via PE-track roles and design-build firm equity.

BS vs MS in mechanical engineering — does the master's pay back in Kansas?

MS-ME in Kansas adds roughly $8-15K to starting pay versus BS-only and shortens the path into specialty roles (CFD, FEA, controls, robotics). The 1.5-2 year tuition + foregone earnings opportunity cost typically breaks even 6-9 years out. PhD-MechE only pays back inside research-heavy positions (national labs, R&D-heavy primes) and largely doesn't lift the BLS-tracked engineering-staff wage in standard industry roles.

How Much Do Mechanical Engineers Make in Kansas? $92K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports Kansas Mechanical Engineer median pay at $91,770. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $102,071.
Nominal: #45/51 · Real: #31/51 — ranking shifts by 14 positions after RPP.
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $10,301 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
Quartile range $76,670 (bottom 25%) to $104,520 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $66,450 to $132,630.

Wage breakdown — Kansas

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$66,450	$73,909
P25 (lower quartile)	$76,670	$85,276
P50 (median)	$91,770	$102,071
P75 (upper quartile)	$104,520	$116,252
P90 (top tier)	$132,630	$147,517
Mean	$94,780	$105,419
Employment	4,120 Mechanical Engineers in Kansas

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Kansas index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	89.9
Goods	96.5
Services	90.8
Rents	68.6

Kansas sits below the national baseline (RPP 89.9), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 68.6.

After-tax take-home — Kansas (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Mechanical Engineer)	$91,770	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$11,436	12.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,574	3.1–5.7% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,020	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$68,739	74.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$76,455	÷ (89.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Kansas state-tax burden means for Mechanical Engineer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $68,739 (74.9% of gross). After the 89.9 RPP, real take-home is $76,455.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $102,320 for Mechanical Engineers with mean pay of $110,080 and total employment of 286,760. Kansas sits at #45 on nominal pay and #31 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Kansas climbs 14 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Kansas rank for Mechanical Engineer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Kansas ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Kansas?: P10 to P90 spans $66,450 to $132,630. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Kansas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Mechanical Engineers?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 89.9 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $91,770 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $102,071. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Mechanical Engineers comparing offers across regions.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Kansas?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Kansas.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Defense / aerospace vs auto vs HVAC mechanical engineer pay in Kansas?: BLS does not segment by industry. In {state}, defense and aerospace primes typically lead on base pay with strong total comp once retention/clearance bonuses layer in (often P75-P90 of the BLS band). Automotive and consumer products sit mid-band. HVAC / building-systems mechanical engineering pays below the BLS median for the first 5 years, then catches up via PE-track roles and design-build firm equity.
BS vs MS in mechanical engineering — does the master's pay back in Kansas?: MS-ME in Kansas adds roughly $8-15K to starting pay versus BS-only and shortens the path into specialty roles (CFD, FEA, controls, robotics). The 1.5-2 year tuition + foregone earnings opportunity cost typically breaks even 6-9 years out. PhD-MechE only pays back inside research-heavy positions (national labs, R&D-heavy primes) and largely doesn't lift the BLS-tracked engineering-staff wage in standard industry roles.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 17-2141, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Kansas Mechanical Engineer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.