Jackson County · Missouri
Kansas City, MO jobs and wages
Who works here, what they earn, and which industries carry the local economy — Census ACS estimates for the city itself, not the wider metro.
Quick answer
Workers in Kansas City, MO earn a median of $44,162 a year, 1% below the national median of $44,587. Unemployment is 4.7% against 5.2% nationally, and education, health care & social assistance is the largest employer at 22.3% of jobs.
- Median earnings
- $44,162#36 of 94 metros
- Unemployment rate
- 4.7%US 5.2%
- Labor force participation
- 68.9%US 63.5%
- People employed
- 265,627Civilian employed, age 16+
What Kansas City does for a living
Share of the civilian employed population by industry, largest first.
- Education, health care & social assistance22.3%
- Professional, scientific & management14.8%
- Retail trade9.6%
- Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation & food9.5%
- Manufacturing8.4%
- Finance, insurance & real estate8.4%
- Transportation, warehousing & utilities7.1%
- Construction5.5%
- Public administration5.1%
- Other services, except public administration4.6%
- Wholesale trade2.5%
- Information1.8%
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting & mining0.5%
Related data for Kansas City
Earnings only mean something next to what things cost.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates
Tables B23025, B20002 and C24030, 2019-2023 ACS 5-year. Industry shares combine the male and female columns of C24030 and are rounded, so they may not total exactly 100%.