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Reference · State of Kansas

Kansas trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Kansas, what the state adds to payroll, whether labor is taxed, what a license costs, how lien rights work and when the heating and cooling seasons peak — each figure from the agency that sets it, with the date we read it.

  • Wages BLS OEWS May 2025
  • Payroll and licenses state agencies
  • Checked and
Plumbing median
$31.36/h+2.2% vs the U.S.22nd of 51
HVAC median
$29.07/h−0.9% vs the U.S.29th of 51
Electrical median
$31.66/h+4.2% vs the U.S.23rd of 51
New-employer SUTA
1.75%on the first $15,100
Payroll programs
Noneno paid-leave or disability program found
Sales tax on labor
Dependsrepair and installation on buildings

Pay in Kansas

Hourly pay across all industries, May 2025. Half of the workers in each trade earn less than the median and half earn more; one in ten earns less than the 10th percentile. Union and non-union, no self-employed.

Hourly pay, 10th to 90th percentileDrawn to scale: one dollar axis for all three trades

  • PlumbingU.S. median $30.67

    plumbers: 10th percentile $18.81, 25th $23.67, median $31.36, 75th $40.80, 90th $52.54 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $20.99, 25th $23.57, median $29.07, 75th $35.02, 90th $40.14 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $20.51, 25th $24.67, median $31.66, 75th $38.73, 90th $46.55 an hour; U.S. median $30.38.

  • 25th–75th percentile
  • State median
  • U.S. median
Hourly pay by percentile for plumbers, HVAC techs and electricians in Kansas, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$18.81$20.99$20.51
25th$23.67$23.57$24.67
Median$31.36$29.07$31.66
75th$40.80$35.02$38.73
90th$52.54$40.14$46.55
Mean$34.33$29.55$33.27
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.+2.2%−0.9%+4.2%
Rank22nd29th23rd
Jobs4,5903,7706,350

Dollars an hour. BLS occupations: Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152); Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021); Electricians (SOC 47-2111). “vs U.S.” compares the medians; rank 1 is the highest median of the 50 states and DC. Released May 15, 2026; the next survey is due each spring.

Payroll costs the state adds

What Kansas charges an employer on top of wages: unemployment tax, and any paid-leave or disability program funded through payroll, and who must carry workers’ comp. Federal Social Security, Medicare and unemployment tax apply in every state and are already in the calculator. Workers’ comp premiums depend on the class code and the insurer, so the card gives the rules, not a rate.

State unemployment tax (SUTA)

Kansas Legislative Research Department; the Kansas Department of Labor’s site could not be read

Wage base
$15,100 per employee a year
New-employer rate
1.75%
Construction
5.55%for new construction employers

Kansas Legislative Research Department (August 25, 2026): new employers with fewer than 24 months of payroll experience pay 1.75%; new construction employers pay 5.55% of the taxable wage base. The Kansas Department of Labor’s own site could not be read on October 28, 2026.

Per tech, a year 5.55% × $15,100 = $838At the construction rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($31.36 × 2,080 h = $65,229). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Kansas Department of Labor, Division of Workers Compensation

Who must carry it
Payroll over $20,000 a yearKansas sets no employee-count threshold; the Act covers every employer except agricultural employers and employers whose total gross annual payroll was not more than $20,000 last year and is reasonably expected to stay at or under $20,000 this year. Wages paid to family members by marriage or blood are left out of the $20,000 (K.S.A. 44-505(a)). ksrevisor.gov
Where to buy it
Private insurersEmployers insure with a carrier authorized to write workers compensation in Kansas, qualify with the director as a self-insurer, or join a qualified group-funded workers compensation pool (K.S.A. 44-532(b)). ksrevisor.gov
Owners
Executive officers of corporations are employees (K.S.A. 44-508(b)). Individual employers, LLC members, partners and self-employed people are not, unless they elect coverage under K.S.A. 44-542a by buying a policy that clearly states it covers them. ksrevisor.gov
Construction
A principal that contracts out work that is part of its trade or business, or that it has contracted to perform, is liable to the contractor’s workers for any compensation it would owe had it employed them directly (K.S.A. 44-503(a)). ksrevisor.gov

Statute and agency pages read

Paid leave and disability insurance

We found no state paid family and medical leave or temporary disability insurance program funded through payroll in Kansas on October 28, 2026. State paid sick leave rules, where they exist, are not covered here.

New-employer rates usually last one to three years — longer in some states (four years in Indiana, four to five in D.C.); then the state assigns your own rate, and your rate notice wins over any figure here. The calculator below uses the construction rate where one is clear. Where a state’s own pages could not be read, the card says so and gives the U.S. Labor Department’s figure.

What a shop in Kansas needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Kansas’s median wage for each trade and its unemployment tax filled in. Your own numbers will differ; change them in the calculator below.

Example shopBreak-evenRate, 10% profit
Plumbingwage $31.36$114.65$127.39→ $130
HVACwage $29.07$109.74$121.93→ $125
Electricalwage $31.66$115.29$128.11→ $130

Per billable hour; → is the rate rounded up, as the calculator rounds it. Everything except the wage and the unemployment tax is the national example (BLS, IRS and DOL figures listed on the labor rate calculator).

Change the numbers for your shop

The labor rate calculator, opened on Kansas: pick your trade, put in your own crew, pay and overhead, and the rate and break-even redraw as you type.

Your labor rate

Who does the billable work?

Example shop in Kansas: 3 techs at the state’s median plumber wage, $120,000 overhead. Change any number or pick another state.

Charge at least Example shop · Kansas

Charge at least $127.39 per billable hour; break-even $114.65.

Round up to $130 (+$2.61)

See it drawn to scale
Rate build-upDrawn to scale: every dollar the same height
Rate build-up for the example, drawn to scaleColumn from $0 to $127.39 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $53.61, taxes & benefits $14.43, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $12.74. Break-even line at $114.65. Rounded up to $130.12345$0Labor$68.04Break-even$114.65Your rate$127.39Round up to$130
  1. Wage$65,228.80 ÷ 1,216.8 h$53.61
  2. Taxes & benefits26.92% of pay$14.43
  3. Overhead$120,000 ÷ 3,650.4 h$32.87
  4. Truck$16,719.14 ÷ 1,216.8 h$13.74
  5. Profit 10%of the price$12.74
Break-even
$114.65
Profit per hour
$12.74
Revenue a year
$465,023

$114.65 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $127.39rounded up to $130

Already showing the example.

Price your tasks at $130 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.

Billable hours
1,216.8per tech a year
Loaded wage
$39.80per paid hour
Labor
$68.04per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
26.92%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $114.65 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $106.46, $8.19 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $111.91.
Show the math
  1. Worked hours2,080 h − 26 days × 8 h = 1,872 h
  2. Billable hours per tech1,872 h × 65% = 1,216.8 h
  3. Gross pay per tech$31.36 × 2,080 h = $65,228.80
  4. Employer taxes and comp$4,044.19 SS + $945.82 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $838.05 SUTA + $1,741.61 comp = $7,611.66
  5. Benefits$65,228.80 × 15.25% = $9,947.39
  6. Labor per billable hour$82,787.85 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $68.04
  7. Overhead per billable hour$120,000 ÷ (3 × 1,216.8 h) = $32.87
  8. Truck per billable hour$16,719.14 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $13.74
  9. Break-even$68.04 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $114.65
  10. Rate at 10% profit$114.65 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $127.39

Change the numbers

State and trade
Trade

Fills the wage and state unemployment tax (SUTA). Workers’ comp and everything else stay as they are.

Filled for Kansas3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$31.36/hr
Kansas median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate Construction
5.55%
Construction rate; other new employers pay 1.75% · Kansas Legislative Research Department, August 2026
SUTA wage base Per tech
$15,100
Kansas · DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026

Your own rate notice wins. These are new-employer rates: after one to three years the state sets your own, and construction employers often pay a different rate.

Kansas: pay, payroll taxes and licensesSee all 50 states and DC
Kansas: the fine print

Kansas Legislative Research Department (August 25, 2026): new employers with fewer than 24 months of payroll experience pay 1.75%; new construction employers pay 5.55% of the taxable wage base. The Kansas Department of Labor’s own site could not be read on October 28, 2026.

Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Kansas median for plumbers, BLS OEWS May 2025.

Hours and time off2,080 h · 26 days off

40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080.

Holidays, vacation and sick days, 8 h each. Example: 8 + 11 + 7 (BLS).

Optional. Paid at 1.5 × the wage. Leave 0 if none.

Billable time

Share of worked hours that ends up on invoices. Published figures run from 30% to 65%.

Billable hours1,216.8 hper tech · 3,650.4 h for the shop
Payroll taxes and benefits+26.92% of pay

Filled: Kansas construction rate, Kansas Legislative Research Department, August 2026. Your notice wins.

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Kansas, DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026.

Use the rate on your policy. Example: BLS construction average.

Health, retirement and other benefits. Example: BLS construction average.

Loaded wage$39.80per paid hour · burden 26.92%

Included automatically (IRS, tax year 2026): Social Security 6.2% of pay up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45%, federal unemployment (FUTA) 0.6% of the first $7,000.

Shop costs

An example figure. Everything except field pay and trucks — split it in the worksheet below.

Payments, fuel, insurance and upkeep. Enter 0 if trucks are already in overhead.

Profit

Profit as a share of the price, not a markup on cost.

Your rate: $127.39 per billable hour · break-even $114.65. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Kansas’s tax agency says about repair and installation labor on buildings and the parts and fixtures that go into them. This is what the agency’s pages say, not tax advice.

Labor
DependsLabor to build, remodel, repair or replace a home is exempt, and so is labor on original construction, though installing appliances as part of their retail sale stays taxable. Remodeling and repair labor on existing commercial buildings, plumbing, electrical and HVAC work included, is taxed.Repairs to a residence are exempt whatever caused the damage. The rule of thumb the Department of Revenue prints: residential labor exempt, original construction exempt, commercial remodel taxable.
Materials
Contractor, when buyingAll contractors are the final consumers of the materials they install and pay sales or use tax on them, unless an exemption certificate applies.

Read October 24, 2026 on the agency pages listed under Sources. All 50 states and DC side by side.

Licenses and state fees

The license a shop needs from the state to contract for each trade, the board that issues it and the fees on its own schedule. Cities and counties can add their own licenses, registrations and permit fees; exam vendors and fingerprinting may charge more.

Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical

No state license

  • Plumbing No state license; plumbers are licensed by counties/cities that require licensure (K.S.A. 12-1508 to 12-1510)Under K.S.A. 12-1509, counties or cities that require licensure of plumbers conduct the designated exams and issue licenses; a certificate of competency is accepted as proof of competency, without another exam, by any county or city that requires plumber licensure; that county or city still issues its own license and sets its fee.
  • HVAC No state license; HVAC contractors/mechanics are licensed by counties/cities that require licensure (K.S.A. 12-1541 to 12-1543)Under K.S.A. 12-1542, counties or cities that require licensure of mechanical HVAC contractors and master/journeyman HVAC mechanics conduct the designated exams and issue licenses.
  • Electrical No state license; electricians/electrical contractors are licensed by counties/cities that require licensure (K.S.A. 12-1525 to 12-1527)Under K.S.A. 12-1526, counties or cities that require licensure of electricians conduct the designated exams and issue licenses; such licenses are valid in other counties or cities requiring examination and licensure.

No state license fee. Kansas statutes require each licensing county/city to fix a uniform exam and licensure fee; amounts vary locally (not researched).

Electrical A 2026 bill for statewide electrician licensing by the state fire marshal (HB 2588) died.

Sources read

Beyond the trade license

Contractor registration, bond and insurance the state asks of a trade shop

Registration
Kansas has no state contractor license or registration for plumbing, HVAC or electrical shops; the state statutes (K.S.A. 12-1508 to 12-1543) only set rules for counties and cities that choose to license these trades. Contractor licenses are local, for example the MABCD trade contractor license for Wichita, unincorporated Sedgwick County and its small cities. kslegislature.gov · sedgwickcounty.org
Bond
No state bond applies because Kansas does not license these trades at the state level; bonds, if any, are set by the licensing county or city. kslegislature.gov · sedgwickcounty.org
Insurance
No state insurance minimum applies because Kansas does not license these trades at the state level; local licensers set their own, for example MABCD (Wichita/Sedgwick County) requires a certificate of at least $300,000 in general liability for a contractor license. kslegislature.gov · sedgwickcounty.org

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

Local licensing Who licenses the trades in Kansas

Kansas licenses plumbers, HVAC mechanics and electricians only at the county or city level. A license based on the state-designated standard exam is valid in every other county or city that requires licensing, while a license based on a local-only exam is good only in that jurisdiction unless the jurisdictions have a reciprocal agreement (K.S.A. 12-1526, 12-1527). The biggest licenser is MABCD, which issues one license for Wichita, unincorporated Sedgwick County and small cities in its jurisdiction. kslegislature.gov · sedgwickcounty.org

State and city pages read

What Kansas law says about lien rights on private jobs — the notices, the deadline to file and the deadline to sue — and whether a statute sets payment deadlines or caps retainage. Read from the statute itself; it is not legal advice.

Mechanic’s lien

K.S.A. 60-1101 to 60-1112Article 11. Liens for Labor and Material

You, hired by the owner
No notice to startKansas requires no pre-lien notice from a contractor who contracts directly with the owner; the residential warning statement (K.S.A. 60-1103a) and notice of intent to perform (60-1103b) are conditions on sub and supplier liens. The contractor files a verified lien statement within 4 months (60-1102). kslegislature.gov
Subs and suppliers
Notice requiredA sub or supplier on an owner-occupied home or an individual’s new principal residence (one or two families) can lien only if it mailed the owner the statutory warning statement, unless the claim is $250 or less (K.S.A. 60-1103a); the owner is protected for payments made before receiving it (60-1103(d)). On new homes, a sub must also file a notice of intent to perform before the deed to a good-faith buyer is recorded to keep its lien against that buyer (60-1103b). kslegislature.gov
File the lien
4 monthsA contractor must file a verified lien statement with the clerk of the district court within 4 months after last furnishing labor or materials (K.S.A. 60-1102); subs and suppliers have 3 months (60-1103). On property other than one- or two-family residences, filing a notice of extension within that period extends the deadline to 5 months. kslegislature.gov
Enforce it
1 yearFile suit to foreclose the lien within 1 year (12 months) after filing the lien statement, or within 1 year after the maturity of a promissory note attached in place of the itemized statement (K.S.A. 60-1105). kslegislature.gov
Homes
On residential property (a residence for no more than two families) the 5-month extension is not available (K.S.A. 60-1102(c)-(d)), subs need the owner warning statement (60-1103a) and, on new homes, a notice of intent to perform (60-1103b), and no foreclosure may proceed unless the holder of a recorded equitable interest was served with the lien (60-1103(c)). The private prompt-pay and retainage act does not cover single-family housing or multifamily housing of four units or less (K.S.A. 16-1807). kslegislature.gov

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
Statute sets deadlinesUnder the Kansas Fairness in Private Construction Contract Act, the owner must pay a contractor within 30 days after a timely, proper, undisputed pay request, and the contractor must pay subs within 7 business days after being paid; late amounts carry 18% per year interest (K.S.A. 16-1803). The act does not apply to single-family housing, multifamily housing of four units or less, or public works (16-1807). kslegislature.gov
Retainage
Capped at 10%On private jobs covered by the act, retainage may not exceed 5% unless the owner or contractor decides more is needed to ensure performance, and never more than 10% (K.S.A. 16-1804(a)); the owner must release remaining retainage within 30 days after substantial completion, and unpaid retainage carries 18% per year interest. Single-family housing and multifamily housing of four units or less are excluded (16-1807). kslegislature.gov

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Kansas

Degree days, NOAA’s index of the energy it takes to heat or cool a building: each degree a day’s mean temperature falls below 65 °F is one heating degree day, each degree above is one cooling degree day. Thirty-year normals for Wichita, month by month.

Heating degree days
4,414
Cooling degree days
1,774
Nights ≤ 32 °F
103
Days ≥ 90 °F
65
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Wichita, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan986028
Feb767021
Mar550411
Apr277233
May79132–
Jun4360–
Jul0512–
Aug0462–
Sep32233–
Oct231452
Nov576213
Dec911025

Wichita has two working seasons: 4,414 heating and 1,774 cooling degree days a year, heating peaking in January and cooling in July.

The lightest months for heating and cooling together are May and September (212 and 265 degree days).

Nights at or below 32 °F: about 103 a year, ten or more a month in November through March; 1 at or below 0 °F. Days reaching 90 °F: about 65 a year, the most in July.

Weighted by where Kansas’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 4,883 heating and 1,453 cooling degree days — 29th for heating and 13th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).

Station: Wichita (USW00003928), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 986 degree days. Read .

Sources

Each page opened on the date shown. License, registration, lien and workers’ comp sources are linked beside each fact above. Figures change: the agency’s own page wins over this one.

  1. May 2025 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (state file oesm25st)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  2. Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2025 (news release USDL-26-0725, May 15, 2026)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  3. Public Data API (national OEWS series for the three occupations)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  4. Unemployment insurance tax rates (klrd.gov)Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) administers UI tax · read October 28, 2026
  5. Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, Effective July 2026U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance · read October 28, 2026
  6. Pub. KS-1525, Business Taxes for Contractors, Subcontractors, and RepairmenKansas Department of Revenue · Rev. 7-29-25 · read October 24, 2026
  7. K.S.A. 60-1101 to 60-1112 — Article 11. Liens for Labor and MaterialOfficial state code · read November 4, 2026
  8. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsKansas Department of Labor, Division of Workers Compensation · read November 4, 2026
  9. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Wichita (USW00003928)NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · read November 4, 2026
  10. Population-weighted daily heating and cooling degree day normals, 1981–2010 (states and CONUS)NOAA National Weather Service, Climate Prediction Center · read November 4, 2026