Employment declined in 1 of the 4 largest counties in Kansas from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that Wyandotte County (-0.5 percent) had the only over-the-year decrease in employment. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Kansas, December 2025

County	Percent change, December 2025
Wyandotte	-0.5
Johnson	0.1
Sedgwick	0.2
Shawnee	2.5

Johnson County (376,200) had the highest employment level in Kansas in December 2025. Together, the four largest counties accounted for 58.3 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Average weekly wage gains in 2 of 4 large counties in Kansas were above the national average of 4.2 percent. (See chart 2.) Shawnee had the largest gain (+5.3 percent). Wages increased for the remaining three large counties: Wyandotte (+4.9 percent), Johnson (+4.0 percent), and Sedgwick (+3.8 percent).

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Kansas, fourth quarter 2025

County	Percent change, fourth quarter 2025
Shawnee	5.3
Wyandotte	4.9
Johnson	4.0
Sedgwick	3.8

Weekly wages in all four large counties in Kansas were below the national average of $1,569. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,550 in Johnson to $1,255 in Shawnee.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 101 smaller counties in Kansas, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.)  Wage levels in 100 of the 101 smaller counties were below the national average. Coffey reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,668) in the state. Chautauqua reported the lowest average weekly wage ($746).

Among all 105 Kansas counties, 13 reported average weekly wages of $849 or less, 20 had wages from $850 to $924, 23 had wages from $925 to $999, 22 had wages from $1,000 to $1,074, and 27 had average weekly wages of $1,075 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)