HOURLY WAGE INDEX

Let’s talk wages in Kansas

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$7.25

What is the minimum wage in Kansas?

The Kansas minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. There are some exceptions to this, such as tipped employees and youth workers. Tipped employees are only required to be paid $2.13 per hour, but if their tips do not bring their total earnings up to the Kansas minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. Youth workers are allowed to be paid $4.25 per hour for the first 90 calendar days of employment.

There are a few exemptions to the minimum wage law in Kansas. These include:

  • Religious organizations: Religious organizations are exempt from the minimum wage law if they employ only members of their own religion.
  • Small businesses: Small businesses with fewer than 25 employees are exempt from the minimum wage law for tipped employees.
  • Learners: Employers may pay learners a sub-minimum wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 consecutive calendar days after the learner is initially employed by the employer.
  • Certain workers with physical or mental limitations: Employers may pay sub-minimum wages to workers with physical or mental limitations that limit their ability to do the job.

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$23.96

What is the average wage in Kansas?

The average wage in Kansas is Higher than the national average wage. As of 2024, the median hourly wage in Kansas is $23.96, while the mean hourly wage is $19.44. The top 10% of earners make an average of $26.74 per hour, while the bottom 10% make an average of $13.09 per hour. The median hourly wage in the United States is $19.76 per hour, while the mean hourly wage is $20.76 per hour. The top 10% of earners make an average of $28.37 per hour, while the bottom 10% make an average of $14.20 per hour.

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$21.06

What is the living wage in Kansas?

The 500kansas.org reports that the living wage in Kansas is $11.17 per hour. The living wage is the hourly wage that an individual must earn to support themselves and their family. The 500kansas.org also reports that the living wage for a single adult in Kansas is $8.84 per hour, while the living wage for a family of four is $22.94 per hour.

A guide to hourly labor laws in Kansas

 

  • Final Paychecks: Paid by the next regular payday after termination or resignation (Kan. Stat. § 44-315).
  • Wage Payment Frequency: At least once per month on regular, employer-designated paydays (Kan. Stat. § 44-314).
  • Paid Sick Leave: No state/federal law. Policies are determined by the employer or through collective bargaining agreements (DoL).
  • Paid Family and Medical Leave: No state/federal paid leave law. The FMLA provides eligible employees up to 12 unpaid weeks in a one-year period for a qualifying medical condition (FMLA).
  • Maximum Daily and Weekly Hours for Children Under 16:
    • School days: No working during school hours; three hours per day; 18 hours per week.
    • Non-school days: Up to eight hours per day and 40 hours per work week.
    • Hours: No working between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. on days preceding school days. Working only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., extended until 9 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day. No working during required school hours (29 C.F.R. § 570.35) (Kan. Stat. § 38-603).
  • Maximum Daily and Weekly Hours for Children 16 and 17: No Kansas law restricting work hours. No work during required school hours. Federal law does not restrict 16- and 17-year-olds’ working hours in non-hazardous occupations (Kan. Stat. § 38-605) (DoL).

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gross wages and net wages?

It's important to remember that the Hourly Wage Index data above reflects gross wages, or the amount of money an employee earns before accounting for payroll deductions like taxes, benefits, or wage garnishments. Due to variability in tax rates across locations, slightly lower gross wages in a certain location might result in higher take home pay, or vice versa.

What is a good hourly wage?

This question is a difficult one to answer, as a "good hourly wage" is highly subjective according to experience, work responsibilities, cost of living, and other factors. We recommend using Hourly Wage Index data as a starting point. Once you have established a baseline for certain positions, do further research into similar businesses in your area. Lastly, consider surveying your employees. They're the best resource to help you know what is a good hourly wage, what competitive pay looks like in your location, and how competitive wages change in your industry over time.

Offering competitive pay is one of my top priorities—what other resources do you have that might help?

We know that getting applicants to pay attention to your business can be extremely challenging, and that offering competitive pay is a huge part of that. Wages aren’t everything, however! Applicant experience is another important factor that can help set you apart from your competition. A few examples include:


  • Short, easy to understand job descriptions
  • Mobile-friendliness
  • Quick communication
  • Streamlined interview stages
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Personal Information and Sensitive Personal Information

Before we discuss the right to limit and the right to opt-out, we must first define personal information and how it relates to sensitive personal information.

Personal information is any data that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked to you or your household. A few examples of personal information include:

  • Name or nickname
  • Email address
  • Purchase history
  • Browsing history
  • Location data
  • Employment data
  • IP address
  • Profiles businesses create about you, including pseudonymous profiles (“user1234”)
  • Sensitive personal information

Sensitive personal information or “SPI” is a subset of personal information, defined as:

  • Identifying information (e.g. social security number, driver’s license)
  • Financial data (e.g. debit or credit card numbers)
  • Precise geolocation (within a radius of 1,850 feet)
  • Demographic or protected-class information (e.g. race/ethnicity, religion, union membership)
  • Biometric and genetic data (e.g. fingerprints, palm scans, facial recognition)
  • Communications and content (e.g. mail, email, text messages)
  • Health and sexual orientation (e.g. vaccine records, health history)

Right to Opt-Out

Californians have the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. That means you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties (e.g. data brokers, advertisers). You also have the right to opt-out of the sharing of your personal information to prevent the targeting of ads across different businesses, websites, apps, or services.

CCPA-covered businesses must provide a link to allow you to exercise this right. It is usually found at the bottom of a webpage and will say “do not sell or share my personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Sometimes businesses offer privacy choices through a pop-up window or form

To opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information, click on the link or use the toggle provided by the business and follow the directions. Doing this on every website you visit can feel burdensome, but to ease the burden you can automatically select your privacy preferences for every website by using an opt-out preference signal, or OOPS for short.

An OOPS is a user-friendly and straightforward way for consumers to automatically exercise their right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information with the businesses they interact with online. An OOPS, such as the Global Privacy Control. It can either be a setting on your internet browser or a browser extension. With an OOPS, consumers do not have to submit individual requests to opt-out of sale or sharing with each business.

Right to Limit

Californians also have the right to direct businesses to limit the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information.

Businesses covered under the CCPA must provide a link on their website that allows you to request the limiting of your SPI, if they plan on using it in certain ways. That link will also typically be at the bottom of a webpage and will say: “limit the use of my sensitive personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Once you send this request, the business must stop using your SPI for anything other than to:

  • Provide requested goods or services
  • Ensure security and integrity
  • Prevent fraud
  • Maintain system functionality
  • Comply with legal obligations

Bringing it Together

In summary, the CCPA gives you the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information and gives you additional rights to further limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information.

When you exercise these rights together, you exert greater control in protecting your personal data which is important for your identity, safety, and financial health.

If you are on a business’s website and you can’t find the links to exercise your rights, remember to check their privacy policy. The privacy policy should tell you how you can exercise your rights under the law.

If you find your rights being violated, you can submit a complaint to CalPrivacy.

Next in the LOCKED series, we will explore the right to correct and right to know. Follow us on social media to get live updates or check back in one week for the next post.

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Targeted Advertising

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Personalization

Allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For example, a website may provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing data about your general location.

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Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information

You also have the right to limit how we use sensitive personal information (such as precise geolocation, financial data, etc.).

Your preference has been saved. We will not sell or share your personal information.