Higher Education Outcome Report · Midwest

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Kansas Higher Education Outcome Report

Updated continuously · 42 degree-granting institutions graded

Kansas's higher education system is a below-average mobility system. Median 10-year earnings sit at $48,748, -5% vs the national median.

aviation manufacturing
agriculture
energy

76
INSTITUTIONS: $48,748
MEDIAN EARNINGS: ▼ -5% vs natl; $19,965
AVG NET PRICE: 34 / 25
PUBLIC / PRIVATE

OUTCOME GRADE

C+

36/100 · #44 of 50

Kansas At A Glance

State-Level Intelligence

Institutions

42

103,164 students enrolled
Graduates / Year

~13,623

Estimated annual completers
Median Earnings
50th pct

$49,898

25th of 50 states
Mobility Score
13th pct

1.2%

40th of 46 states
Talent Retention
32nd pct

66%

First-year retention rate
Value Ratio
26th pct

2.5x

Earnings per net-price dollar

Top Industries Hiring Graduates:

Business
Healthcare
Humanities

Executive Summary

Upward mobility sits mid-pack: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.2% rate, in the 13th percentile nationally.
Degree production is led by Business and Healthcare, which together account for 41% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.
Engineering is the standout sector: graduates earn $55,979, +8.5% versus the national median. That premium points to a real wage advantage rather than sheer volume.
Humanities shows oversupply pressure: graduate earnings run 14.7% below the national median, suggesting the field produces more graduates than the local market rewards.
On value, Kansas returns 2.5x earnings per dollar of net price, below average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.
The state's strongest mobility engine is McPherson College, which moves bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 3.4% rate, the highest in Kansas.

Key Insights

Earnings vs National

+0.7%

Median graduate earnings in Kansas are above the national average by 1%.
Cost vs National

-9.1%

Net price in Kansas is lower than the national average by 9%.
Mobility Rate

-0.45pp

Upward mobility rate is 0.4 percentage points below the national average.
Completion Rate

-4.3pp

Kansas's graduation rate is 4.3 percentage points below the national average.
Best Value

11.8x

Top value school: Haskell Indian Nations University ($37,043 earnings vs $3,134 net price).
Top Mobility School

3.9%

Highest mobility rate: Coffeyville Community College at 3.9%.

Education Output Profile

Business (23% of graduates) and Healthcare (18% of graduates) dominate Kansas's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $52,168.

Business

23%

$52,168 avg
Healthcare

18%

$45,370 avg
Humanities

16%

$43,832 avg
Social Sciences

8%

$53,012 avg
Education

7%

$51,161 avg

Concentration: diversified HHI: 13

Outcome Performance

Kansas's highest-ROI degree cluster is Trades (Precision Production), where graduates average $39,838 against a net cost of $9,776, a 4.1x return. That's -22.8% vs the national median.

Precision Production
4.1x

$39,838 earnings $9,776 net -22.8% vs natl
Culinary & Personal Services
3.7x

$40,511 earnings $11,055 net -21.5% vs natl
Legal Studies
3.3x

$52,369 earnings $15,838 net +1.5% vs natl
Mechanic & Repair Tech
3.3x

$47,004 earnings $14,385 net -8.9% vs natl
Construction Trades
3.0x

$45,456 earnings $15,060 net -11.9% vs natl
Humanities
2.8x

$48,752 earnings $17,464 net -5.5% vs natl

State Talent Profile

Three lenses on Kansas's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

Dominant Fields

Business & Marketing 23%
Health Professions 18%
Humanities 15%
Education 7%
Engineering 5%

Highest-Earning Fields

Engineering $54,423
Social Sciences $54,391
Communications $53,138
Biology & Biomedical $53,020
Psychology $52,192

Opportunity Gaps

High earnings, low local production — fields where demand may outrun Kansas's graduate supply.

Social Sciences $54,391 3% of grads
Communications $53,138 3% of grads
Biology & Biomedical $53,020 4% of grads
Psychology $52,192 5% of grads

Mobility & Retention

Opportunity Insights

Kansas's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.2%, which puts the state in the 13th percentile nationally. 7% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.54, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

MOBILITY RATE

1.2%

▼ -0.48pp vs natl

Bottom 20% → Top 20%
LOW-INCOME ACCESS

7%

From bottom quintile
SUCCESS RATE

19%

If bottom 20% enroll
FIRST-GENERATION

37%

First-gen students
TALENT RETENTION

66%

First-year retention
SOCIAL CAPITAL

1.54

Economic connectedness

Mobility Leaders — Institutions Driving Upward Movement

Labor Market Alignment

Kansas's Engineering programs produce graduates earning $55,979, +8.5% relative to the national median. Humanities graduates, however, earn 14.7% below the national median, a possible sign the state produces more of these degrees than its labor market absorbs.

Business
23% of enrollment

$51,136 -0.9% vs natl

30 schools
Healthcare
18% of enrollment

$48,964 -5.1% vs natl

31 schools
Humanities
16% of enrollment

$43,981 -14.7% vs natl

14 schools
Social Sciences
8% of enrollment

$53,274 +3.3% vs natl

19 schools
Education
7% of enrollment

$52,003 +0.8% vs natl

20 schools
Engineering
5% of enrollment

$55,979 +8.5% vs natl

4 schools

Overperforming Sectors

Engineering: +8.5% vs national earnings ($55,979)

Potential Oversupply Signals

Humanities: -14.7% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Healthcare: -5.1% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Institutional Landscape

Kansas's higher education system includes 3 research-oriented, 10 specialized, 7 access-oriented, 22 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

3

Research Universities
22

Regional Universities
7

Access-Oriented Institutions
10

Specialized Institutions

Research Universities

Access-Oriented Institutions

Cost & Access Corridors

26% of Kansas's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $40,573 at 10 years.

NET PRICE UNDER $15K

10

26% of schools
Avg earnings: $40,573
NET PRICE $15K–$25K

15

39% of schools
Avg earnings: $49,409
NET PRICE $25K–$40K

13

34% of schools
Avg earnings: $53,279

Top Earners

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

Higher education in Kansas

Kansas is home to 76 colleges and universities, from 34 public institutions to 25 private nonprofits. University of Kansas anchors the public system, and graduates across the state earn a median of about $44,159 ten years after enrolling.

Higher education clusters around Wichita, Overland Park and Manhattan, and the strongest programs by enrollment are Health Professions, Business & Marketing and Humanities. We rank every school here by what its graduates actually earn and how far they move up — not by reputation or sticker price.

What college costs in Kansas

The average net price — what students actually pay after grants and scholarships — runs about $16,433 a year across Kansas. Hutchinson Community College stands out on return: strong graduate earnings against a comparatively low net price. Public universities and in-state tuition remain the clearest path to a low-debt degree, while need-based aid can make selective private schools surprisingly competitive.

Most Affordable Schools

Jobs & industries

Kansas's economy leans on aviation manufacturing, agriculture and energy, which shapes which degrees pay off fastest in-state. Programs in Health Professions, Business & Marketing and Humanities feed directly into those employers, and graduates who stay in-region benefit from established hiring pipelines and alumni networks.

Licensure & transfer

Licensure and articulation are state-specific: nursing, teaching, law, and the health professions are regulated at the Kansas level, so an in-state program is often the most direct route to practicing here. Community-college transfer agreements with public universities can also cut the cost of a four-year degree substantially.

Cost vs Return

What graduates in Kansas earn relative to what they pay for college.

MEDIAN EARNINGS (10YR)

$44,159

▲ +$322 vs natl

AVG NET PRICE

$16,433

▲ $-1,643 vs natl

EARNINGS / COST RATIO

2.7x

Return per dollar invested

Best Value Schools

Is Kansas Right for You?

Kansas is a strong fit if you want to build a career in aviation manufacturing and agriculture, value in-state tuition, or plan to work in the region after graduation. Use the rankings and filters below to weigh earnings, cost, and mobility for every school in the state.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →

Related Rankings

Top Schools

Baker University · KS MidAmerica Nazarene University · KS University of Kansas · KS Galen Health Institutes-Wichita · KS University of Saint Mary · KS Kansas State University · KS

FAQ

How many colleges are in Kansas?

There are 76 colleges and universities in Kansas in our dataset — 34 public, 25 private nonprofit.

What is the highest-earning college in Kansas?

By median graduate earnings 10 years out, Baker University leads, followed by schools like MidAmerica Nazarene University and University of Kansas.

How much does college cost in Kansas?

The average net price — tuition and living costs after grants — is about $16,433 per year. In-state public tuition is typically the lowest-cost path.

What are the best-paying career fields in Kansas?

Kansas's economy is anchored by aviation manufacturing, agriculture and energy, so degrees feeding those industries tend to pay off fastest in-state.

Is it worth going to college in Kansas?

For most students, yes — especially at in-state public universities and high-value private schools. Hutchinson Community College, for example, pairs strong earnings with a low net price. Weigh earnings against net price using the data on this page.

All 76 schools in Kansas

Data Behind This Page Updated 2026

76 institutions in Kansas

2026 Last updated

100% Public / federal sources

Source datasets

Methodology

States are graded on graduate earnings, social mobility, completion, and cost — each drawn from federal data and Opportunity Insights research, then normalized into a single Outcomes Index (0–100).

See the full methodology and weights →

Confidence notes

Earnings, completion, and debt figures come from federal administrative records — tax data and student-aid filings — not surveys or self-reports, the highest-confidence tier of education data available.
Social-mobility estimates are drawn from de-identified tax records covering more than 30 million students (Opportunity Insights).
Where an institution is missing a metric, it is excluded from that metric rather than imputed, so averages are never inflated by guesses.

Limitations

Federal earnings data primarily cover students who received federal financial aid; outcomes for non-aided students may differ.
Earnings are measured roughly ten years after enrollment, so they describe how earlier cohorts fared — historical outcomes, not guarantees of future results.
An institution's field-of-study mix affects raw earnings; scores reflect measured outcomes and are not fully major-adjusted unless explicitly noted.
Net price is an average; the actual cost a given student pays varies widely by family income.

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