Employment rose in 3 of the 4 largest counties in Kansas from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Kansas employment was essentially unchanged over the year at 1,425,300 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner James B. Howard, Jr., noted that Sedgwick County (+0.9 percent) had the largest over-the-year increase in employment. (See chart 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Kansas, March 2026

County	Percent change, March 2026
Sedgwick	0.9
Johnson	0.7
Shawnee	0.5
Wyandotte	-2.1

Johnson County (370,600) had the highest employment level in Kansas in March 2026. Together, the four largest counties accounted for 58.3 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 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 2025.)

Average weekly wage gains in 3 of the 4 large counties in Kansas were below the national average of 3.9 percent. (See chart 2.) Shawnee had the largest gain (+4.2 percent). Wages increased for the remaining three large counties: Sedgwick (+3.8 percent), Johnson (+2.8 percent), and Wyandotte (+2.6 percent).

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Kansas, first quarter 2026

County	Percent change, first quarter 2026
Shawnee	4.2
Sedgwick	3.8
Johnson	2.8
Wyandotte	2.6

Weekly wages in all four large counties in Kansas were below the national average of $1,654. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,647 in Johnson to $1,286 in Sedgwick.

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 3.1 percent over the year to $1,286. Kansas ranked 41st in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 39th in wage growth.

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 2025. (See table 2.)  Wage levels in all of the smaller counties were below the national average. Coffey reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,573) among small counties. Osage reported the lowest average weekly wage ($719) in the state.

Among all 105 Kansas counties, 22 reported average weekly wages of $849 and lower, 21 had wages from $850 to $924, 31 had wages from $925 to $999, 16 had wages from $1,000 to $1,074, and 15 had average weekly wages of $1,075 and higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

QCEW data for all states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

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The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.