How many people are employed in Kansas?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Kansas has 1,248,825 employees across 76,139 business establishments in 755 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Kansas?

The largest industries in Kansas by employment are General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (57,406), Limited-Service Restaurants (47,993), and Full-Service Restaurants (45,439).

What is the average payroll in Kansas?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Kansas. The highest-paying tracked industry is Commodity Contracts Dealing at $227,910/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Kansas?

Kansas has 76,139 business establishments across 755 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · KS · Census CBP 2023

Kansas Industry Benchmarks

Name: Kansas Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 755 industries in Kansas. Drill into any industry for a Kansas-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

1.2M
Workers: 76K
Establishments: 755
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Kansas

Kansas employs 1,248,825 workers across 755 tracked industries, led by General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (57,406 workers).

No single sector dominates Kansas (lead 16%; top-three 41%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

Kansas sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Kansas private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Kansas spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 16% of 1,248,825 private-sector workers (about the 35th percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

KS breadth ledger · HHI 0.092
Sector	Workers	Share
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	197,779	16%
Manufacturing (31)	170,492	14%
Retail Trade (44)	144,418	12%
Top-three cumulative 41% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns KS DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#33/51 · 1,248,825 workers · 76,139 firms

EMP 1,248,825
EST 76,139
RANK #33/51
PCT 35th pct
LEAD Health Care and Soci…
SHARE 16% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 16.4 /firm
BOOK 755 NAICS
PHOTO Nevada

Nearest employment-scale peer: Nevada (1,298,196 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Kansas ranks #33 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals NAICS 622110	57,406	140	$4.0B	$69,302/yr
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	47,993	2,231	$892.9M	$18,605/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	45,439	2,197	$976.5M	$21,491/yr
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores NAICS 445110	23,176	485	N/A	N/A
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices NAICS 551114	21,493	433	$2.6B	$122,067/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	20,960	1,466	$2.1B	$99,091/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	19,393	2,609	$460.4M	$23,741/yr
Professional Employer Organizations NAICS 561330	17,800	32	$1.2B	$64,989/yr
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	16,923	1,354	$1.2B	$71,451/yr
Engineering Services NAICS 541330	14,411	561	$1.5B	$103,079/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	14,387	279	$574.6M	$39,936/yr
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages NAICS 524210	14,227	1,947	$1.1B	$80,316/yr
Couriers and Express Delivery Services NAICS 492110	12,269	101	N/A	N/A
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	11,412	1,028	$799.1M	$70,020/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	10,783	254	$724.8M	$67,213/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	9,906	411	$242.8M	$24,505/yr
Continuing Care Retirement Communities NAICS 623311	9,696	121	$346.7M	$35,754/yr
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores NAICS 447110	9,679	850	$253.7M	$26,210/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	9,498	621	$245.9M	$25,888/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	9,135	681	$645.5M	$70,667/yr

Breadth peers near Kansas's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,248,825 in Kansas), excluding KS.

Nevada 1,298,196 Iowa 1,306,260 Oklahoma 1,358,788 Arkansas 1,072,827 Utah 1,512,504 Connecticut 1,527,746 Mississippi 955,942 Nebraska 897,981

Disclaimer: Kansas (KS) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Kansas businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · KS

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Kansas (KS). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →