Kansas RN Salary - How Much Do RNs Make in KS?
Kansas employed 26,940 registered nurses as of May 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The average RN salary in Kansas is $55,780. This is about $10,000 less than the national average of $65,470. Offsetting some of this difference in earnings is the fact that the cost of living in Kansas is lower than the average cost of living for the United States. According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC), the cost of living in Kansas was eight percent below the national average in 2018.
The majority of Kansas nurses work in the Kansas City area. This area employed 20,770 RNs in 2018. The median salary here is much higher than the average RN salary in Kansas. At the time when this data was collected, RNs earned $66,220 per year on average. Those in the top tenth percentile made more than $96,320 while those in the bottom tenth percent earned less than $45,630. The benefits of working in this area are further compounded by the low cost of living. According to Forbes, the cost of living in Kansas City is 3.7 percent below the national average. The median home here costs a stunningly low $140,600. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate here is 6.6 with jobs growing extremely slowly.
In other parts of the state, RN salaries are lower on average. In 2018, the only city other than Kansas City with a median annual salary over $60,000 was Topeka. In this area, the median annual salary was $60,240. Despite being higher than other areas, this is still below the national average. The lowest paying area in Kansas, on average, is Wichita. RNs in this city were paid a median salary of $51,180 per year. The top tenth percentile earned as little as $70,960 per year at the time of this report.
Nurses in Kansas can increase their earning potential by pursuing further education or specialty certification. In addition, those with more experience in the field are likely to be paid more. Salaries are also likely to vary by individual employer.
Resources
- https://meric.mo.gov/data/cost-living-data-series