How much does a Truck Driver make in Kansas?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $56,940 for Truck Drivers in Kansas as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $47,000 and the 75th-percentile is $65,760.

Why is the BEA RPP for Kansas different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Kansas's overall index of 89.9 reflects rents 68.6, services 90.8, and goods 96.5.

Where does Kansas rank for Truck Driver 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.

What are the limits of these Truck Driver salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

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.

OTR vs regional vs local truck driver pay in Kansas?

BLS aggregates Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) into one figure. In Kansas, OTR (over-the-road, multi-week trips) typically pays the highest gross — $65-90K range with experience — but on a real per-hour basis once away-from-home time is counted, regional (home weekly) and local/dedicated (home daily) routes often net comparable take-home. Local LTL and dedicated-fleet routes in Kansas frequently pay above the BLS median when union-represented (Teamsters).

Truck Driver Pay in Kansas: $57K Median + Purchasing Power (2026)

TL;DR

Headline Truck Driver pay in Kansas is $56,940. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $63,331.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $6,391 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
Quartile range $47,000 (bottom 25%) to $65,760 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $39,450 to $78,800.
State ranks #28 nationally on nominal wage, #7 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Kansas

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$39,450	$43,878
P25 (lower quartile)	$47,000	$52,276
P50 (median)	$56,940	$63,331
P75 (upper quartile)	$65,760	$73,141
P90 (top tier)	$78,800	$87,645
Mean	$59,350	$66,012
Employment	23,250 Truck Drivers 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 (Truck Driver)	$56,940	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$4,695	8.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,589	3.1–5.7% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,356	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$45,301	79.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$50,386	÷ (89.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Kansas state-tax burden means for Truck Driver take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.5% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $45,301 (79.6% of gross). After the 89.9 RPP, real take-home is $50,386.

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 $57,440 for Truck Drivers with mean pay of $58,400 and total employment of 2,070,480. Kansas sits at #28 on nominal pay and #7 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Kansas climbs 21 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Truck Driver make in Kansas?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $56,940 for Truck Drivers in Kansas as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $47,000 and the 75th-percentile is $65,760.
Why is the BEA RPP for Kansas different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Kansas's overall index of 89.9 reflects rents 68.6, services 90.8, and goods 96.5.
Where does Kansas rank for Truck Driver 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.
What are the limits of these Truck Driver salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
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.
OTR vs regional vs local truck driver pay in Kansas?: BLS aggregates Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) into one figure. In Kansas, OTR (over-the-road, multi-week trips) typically pays the highest gross — $65-90K range with experience — but on a real per-hour basis once away-from-home time is counted, regional (home weekly) and local/dedicated (home daily) routes often net comparable take-home. Local LTL and dedicated-fleet routes in Kansas frequently pay above the BLS median when union-represented (Teamsters).

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 53-3032, 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 Truck Driver 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.