Janitorial Wages in Kansas (2026)

Kansas's janitorial workforce earns a statewide mean and median hourly wage of $15.71 (BLS OEWS May 2024, SOC 37-2011), ranking $1.56/hr below the national median and reflecting the state's predominantly rural commercial economy outside the Kansas City metro corridor. With no state minimum wage above the federal $7.25/hr floor, wages are market-driven, creating an $8.46/hr gap between the legal minimum and prevailing median.

What employers should plan for

• Floor: $7.25/hr federal (K.S.A. §44-1203; Kansas minimum wage statute mirrors the federal rate). Kansas has not enacted an independent state minimum wage increase. Wichita and Topeka do not have local minimum wage ordinances.
• Local floors: No Kansas city or county has enacted a local minimum wage ordinance. Kansas City, KS employers operating in the metro should note that the Kansas City, MO side of the metro has a higher effective wage environment — the two labor markets are functionally integrated.
• Loaded labor rate: Commercial cleaning bids in Kansas run approximately $24–$30/hr total loaded cost (base wage + payroll taxes + WC ~$1.80–$2.20/$100 + benefits + overhead). Wichita bids typically start lower than KC-area bids by $1.50–$2.00/hr base.
• Workers' comp class 9014 — Kansas is an NCCI jurisdiction; estimated base rate approximately $1.80–$2.20/$100 payroll. Kansas historically runs below-average WC rates for cleaning contractors.

High-wage metros vs. low-wage metros

Kansas City MO-KS MSA leads Kansas at a median $16.95/hr (25th: $14.74, 75th: $18.82, 90th: $22.35), driven by the bi-state corporate and healthcare market and SEIU Local 1 pattern bargaining influence. St. Joseph MO-KS MSA comes in just below at $16.78/hr median (90th: $22.94). At the low end, Manhattan, KS (Manhattan-Junction City MSA) posts a median of just $14.25/hr — likely reflecting the Fort Riley military installation and Kansas State University's lower-wage institutional cleaning baseline. Wichita, the state's largest city, trails at a median $14.96/hr with a 10th percentile of $10.58/hr — one of the lowest in this batch.

Wage percentile distribution (BLS OEWS 2024)

• 10th percentile: $11.02/hr
• 25th percentile: $13.90/hr
• Median (50th): $15.71/hr
• 75th percentile: $17.71/hr
• 90th percentile: $21.21/hr

Kansas has one of the wider 10th-to-90th spreads ($10.19/hr) relative to its median in this batch — the 10th percentile at $11.02/hr is only $3.77/hr above the federal minimum, indicating the floor is not purely binding but that a meaningful bottom tier of workers earns near minimum. The nonmetro Kansas median ($14.82/hr) is essentially at the 25th statewide percentile, reflecting the rural/metro wage gap.

Union presence

Kansas is a right-to-work state. However, SEIU Local 1, which organizes building service workers across Midwest markets including Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis, also covers the Kansas City corridor. In July 2025, SEIU Local 1 janitors ratified a new 3-year contract covering approximately 800 janitors working in over 150 Kansas City buildings (including Crown Center, Union Station, and City Hall). This contract includes guaranteed annual raises and enhanced paid leave. The Kansas City market should be treated as union-influenced for bidding purposes; Wichita and Topeka commercial cleaning is predominantly non-union.

What this means for bid math

Kansas offers a cost-competitive cleaning labor market outside the KC metro. Wichita area contracts can budget $15.00–$15.50/hr as the competitive base rate with a total loaded cost of approximately $23–$27/hr (1.55–1.70× base). Kansas City (KS side) contracts should use $16.95/hr as the base benchmark and budget $28–$32/hr total loaded given SEIU Local 1's KC pattern agreement. The $1.99/hr difference between KC and Wichita medians is material enough to require location-specific cost models for multi-site Kansas contracts.

Primary sources

• O*NET Local Wages — Kansas (BLS OEWS May 2024 data)
• DOL WHD State Minimum Wage Laws
• SEIU Local 1 — Kansas City Janitorial Contract Ratification (July 2025)