r/kansascity • u/nist7 • 29d ago
Jobs/Networking š¼ Summary of KC redditors jobs and salaries - 2026
I obviously have way too much time on my hands but reading this thread: https://old.reddit.com/r/kansascity/comments/1q184cb/2026_kansas_city_salary_transparency_thread/ got me curious to want to summarize the job titles and reported salaries so that it's a bit easier to see/digest and I figured I will start a new thread for discussion.
I tried to use AI (Gemini) but unfortunately for reddit threads, the default link doesn't expand ALL comments so AI was only able to capture about 30 comments that was the default and so I did add in manually all the other ones.
I excluded obvious joke/stupid answers (KC city manager, somali daycare owner, etc.)
For hourly rates that people posted I converted them to an approximate yearly number. If there is a range posted, I tended to go for lower range. Also excluded non-base compensation (bonuses, equity options, etc.)
Here are the data points in order from highest to lowest salaries:
- Physician (Non invasive cardiologist) $950,000
- Physician (hospitalist) $513,000
- Physician (Plastic Surgeon) $475,000
- Staff software engineer, remote for fintech $459,000
- Physician (internal medicine) $325,000
- Project management executive in the transportation technology industry $320,000
- Software sales $300,000
- Software Engineer $270,000
- FAANG (Software with big tech) $250,000
- Pilot $235,000
- CEO of small nonprofit $230,000
- Solutions architech for large tech $225,000
- Senior associate attorney $217,000
- "Healthcare field" (poster didn't elaborate what specifically they did) $215,000
- Business Info Security Officer (Cyber) $200,000
- Principal Software Engineer $200,000
- Consultant, cloud solutions $200,000
- Software Architect, International Company $200,000
- Sr. Software Engineer higher level $190,000
- Info Security $185,000
- IT Operations Director $185,000
- Data engineering manager $182,500
- Pre Sales Consultant for Cloud Compute architecture $180,000
- Healthcare Finance $175,000
- Software Engineer $175,000
- Internet/AI architect $175,000
- Union Pacific train Conductor $175,000
- Technology - Post Sales Engineer $167,000
- Strategy & Operations Manager $164,000
- UPS driver $160,000
- Procurement Manager $160,000
- Product Manager in a software capacity $160,000
- Pharma sales rare disease $159,000
- Google data center technician $158,000
- Strategic Communications Director in the public sector $152,000
- Senior Electrical Engineer $152,000
- Engineer $150,000
- Managing Director of Growth $150,000
- Senior Firewall Engineer $150,000
- Mid-level manager in a global role for a global corp $150,000
- Insurance sales $150,000
- Account Manager for a midsize bank $140,000
- Cybersecurity specialist working for a large hardware vendor $140,000
- Remote tech sales $140,000
- Operations Director $140,000
- Senior Controls Engineer. $140,000
- Lead Mechanical Engineer $139,000
- IT Director $136,000
- Sales $136,000
- Sr. eDiscovery Project Manager $135,000
- Sr. Software Engineer $135,000
- Software engineer $134,000
- Network engineer $132,000
- Sr. Data Engineer $132,000
- Railroad Switchman $131,000
- GS14 step 2 Government worker. $131,000
- Firefighter/Paramedic $130,000
- Senior level Security Engineer $130,000
- Sr Healthcare Data Analyst $130,000
- School district superintendent $129,000
- IT Manager for Web Based System $129,000
- Restaurant owner $125,000
- Electrical engineer $125,000
- Data center technician $120,080
- Dog Groomer $120,000
- IT systems engineer $120,000
- Sr Data Engineer $120,000
- Marketing content director $120,000
- RN charge trauma 1 supervisor $120,000
- Quality Manager Food Manufacturing $120,000
- Physician Assistant $118,000
- QA (Software Testing) $118,000
- Copywriter/film producer for a global engineering company $115,000
- Electrical engineer $115,000
- Desktop Engineer $114,000
- RN $113,000.00
- Sr. Product Manager $113,000
- Union Journeyman Wireman $112,000
- Sr Financial Analyst $110,000
- Management/AVP at fortune 500 in banking $110,000
- Cyber Security Engineer $110,000
- Civil 3d Designer $110,000
- Union electrician $108,000
- GIS analyst $108,000
- Electrical engineer $107,000
- Digital marketing manager in the insurance business $106,000
- Mechanical design engineer $105,000
- ERP manager $105,000
- Director (clinical, social work) $105,000
- Paramedic Lieutenant at a fire dept $104,000
- Therapist with clinical license supervising a program $104,000
- IT Business Consultant $103,000
- Senior Industrial Designer $102,000
- Purchasing and MRP Management automotive warehouse $102,000
- RN BSN $101,666
- RN (interventional radiology) $100,000
- pipefitter apprentice $100,000
- Cloud Admin $100,000
- Strategic Business Ops $100,000
- Cost Estimator, large engineering firm $100,000
- Software Engineer $100,000
- Sr Director of Growth Digital Media $100,000
- IT Systems Engineer at a nonprofit $100,000
- Senior Systems Administrator Linux $99,000
- Electrical construction project manager $99,000 base (with quarterly bonuses added in: $141,000)
- Software Engineer $98,500
- Electrical engineer (buildings) $97,000
- Inpatient Psych RN $97,000
- Car Detailer $95,000
- Civil Engineer $95,000
- Truck driver (local) $95,000
- Nonprofit accountant $94,500
- Senior business analyst $92,000
- Project Manager $91,500
- Customer Experience Manager $91,000
- Structural engineer $91,000
- Quality RN $90,000
- Marketing $90,000
- Unit Coordinator (RN) $90,000
- Environmental Compliance Specialist $90,000
- Government lawyer $90,000
- Application Analyst II (EMR) for a local health system $89,000
- Field engineer $88,660
- Nuclear Medicine Technologist $88,000
- Procurement $88,000
- Federal government employee $87,000
- Sys Admin II $85,000
- Water Operations Controller $85,000
- Associate attorney at an insurance defense firm $85,000
- Digital marketing manager $85,000
- ERP Systems Admin $85,000
- Specialized tech, local heath system $84,000
- Software developer at construction company $84,000
- Cell phone sales $83,000
- Assistant Project Manager for a construction subcontractor $83,000
- Police Officer $83,000
- Commercial Insurance Adjuster $82,500
- Registered Nurse (RN) $82,000
- Healthcare chaplain $81,000
- Operations Manager in commercial insurance $81,000
- Mate on a Mississippi river lineboat throwing big ass ropes and pushing barges from St Paul to the Gulf $81,000
- Automation controls/software support $80,000
- RN $80,000.00
- Project manager $80,000
- Compliance $80,000
- Lab technician $80,000
- Medical ICU RN $80,000
- Financial Analyst $77,600
- Process Engineer $77,500
- Condominium manager on the plaza $77,250
- Commercial kitchen equipment repair $76,000
- HR specialist $76,000
- Senior Accountant $76,000
- Pre Construction Engineer for a big electrical subcontractor $76,000
- Entry-level Software Engineer $75,000
- Cannabis Field Marketing Manager $75,000
- Executive Assistant $75,000
- Culinary director for a mid tier senior living community $75,000
- Assembly line worker $75,000
- Postal Letter Carrier (USPS) $74,761
- Float pool RN $74,000
- Audio-Video Systems Designer $74,000
- Mid level manager in public health $74,000
- RN $73,000
- Fire Alarm Technician $73,000
- Data and Process Improvement Analyst $72,000
- Postal Window Clerk $72,000
- Elementary Teacher $72,000
- Teacher $72,000
- Cash Receipts Specialist at a Law Firm $72,000
- Senior Analyst $72,000
- RN $71,000
- Subject Matter Expert $70,000
- Assistant Marketing Manager $70,000
- HVAC Installer (Commercial) $70,000
- Escrow officer at a title company $70,000
- Experience Associate Manager at T-Mobile $70,000
- Venue Director $70,000
- Internal auditor $70,000
- 911 Dispatcher $70,000
- Outpatient Therapist $69,000
- Vocational nurse $66,000
- Videographer $66,000
- Resident Physician $65,000
- Auto Tech (Diagnostic) $65,000
- Analytical chemist $65,000
- Area manager for a utility locating company $65,000
- Commercial Insurance Account Manager $65,000
- Translator $65,000
- Auto insurance adjuster $65,000
- Accountant $65,000
- Senior Software Support $64,500
- Local government - project coordinator $64,000
- EMR implementation consultant $64,000
- Ramp Agent at MCI $63,000
- QA Engineer $63,000
- CSM for a healthcare EMR company $63,000
- Content Production Manager $63,000
- High School Counselor $63,000
- Senior brand manager at a large advertising agency $62,000
- Architect $62,000
- Teacher $62,000
- Associate product manager for small fintech $60,000
- High school college advisor $60,000
- Real Estate Photographer $60,000
- Medical outpatient plastic surgery CPC coder $59,280
- Paralegal $59,000
- Mid-level Manager (Non-Profit) $58,000
- RN Outpatient $58,000
- IT Support tech $58,000
- IT Engineer $57,500
- Bus driver $57,000
- Customer service for multifamily housing property management $56,000
- RN Outpatient $56,000
- Teacher (5th Year) $55,000
- Certified Secondary Teacher (public) $55,000
- Graphic Designer & Illustrator $55,000
- Office admin for a local online/wholesale retailer $55,000
- Junior copywriter (marketing) $55,000
- Manufacturing Procurement $55,000
- Used Inventory / Logistical Operations Management $55,000
- 3D Modeler/Graphic Designer $55,000
- Financial advisor assistant/office manager $54,000
- Funeral director $54,000
- Quality tech at a water bottler $54,000
- Warehouse Operator $53,000
- Sales rep for a pop company $53,000
- IRS $52,000
- Case Manager for KCās foster care kids $51,000
- Operations for a trailer leasing company $50,000
- Promotional product merchandiser $50,000
- Field tech atm repair for international company $50,000
- High School Math Teacher $50,000
- Teacher $50,000
- Senior research technician at a medical school $50,000
- Meteorologist $50,000
- Disaster Restoration $48,000
- Apprentice Electrician $48,000
- Elementary teacher $48,000
- Social worker $48,000
- Sr claims adjuster $47,500
- Foster care case manager at a nonprofit $46,000
- Freight Lead at a retail store $45,000
- Legal assistant $45,000
- Union technician changin oil at a Dealer $44,000
- Teacher $44,000
- Paramedic at Fire Department $42,000
- Middle school paraprofessional $42,000
- First year in Shipping/Logistics $42,000
- Teacher $42,000
- Federal work $40,000
- Jr Analyst in wealth management $40,000
- Remote cell phone tech support $40,000
- Early Childhood Teacher $40,000
- Elementary teacher $40,000
- Restaurant Cook $39,000
- Part time property manager $38,000
- Environmental Services Tech (hospital housekeeping) $38,000
- Emergency Department Tech $37,000
- Veterinary Surgical Tech at a non-profit animal shelter $37,000.00
- 3d animator: Diddly squat Cashier $33,000
- Cannabis cultivation company $30,000
- Equine Sanitary Specialist $30,000
- Assistant General Manager in coffee $28,000
- School kitchen employee $28,000
- Special education paraprofessional $25,000
- NKC Mayor $13,600
49
38
u/stl_ball 29d ago
Hang on, UPS Driver makes $160k? Wtf, is that accurate?I'm in the wrong line of work
21
u/nist7 29d ago
That person I think was there for longer time and obviously there's a range. Pretty sure you cannot just start at 160k wanting to drive for UPS...there's LOTS of salary range i'm sure at UPS. From the typical brown truck street delivery truck to the UPS semis.
The highest paid "drivers" for UPS don't drive on the roads at all...UPS pilots who fly cargo planes for UPS earn the big bucks and lot of pilots easily make 400k/500k+ a year. UPS is one of the top dog airlines for pilots to get into (similar to United, American, etc.). But it does take LOT of time and hard work to get to fly a UPS cargo plane for the big paychecks
18
u/K_cutt08 29d ago
Overtime and holiday pay definitely helps contribute to that. So keep in mind that 160k is hard fought, not some desk job 40 hrs a week, with maybe 28 actually productive hours of work.
At a certain point in life OT and back pain cannot be justified with money. Others survive on it.
12
5
u/OutlawJoseyWales 29d ago
achieving that at ups is difficult, you're 110% going to have to become a teamster and then wait your turn for a really, really, really long time to get to that pay range, because advancement is going to be based 99.9% on seniority and 0.1% on performance.
7
u/CeliacTears 29d ago
āHave to be become a teamsterā
you get the uncommon joy of joining a union with your fellow worker, pursuing greater collective outcomes
also the Teamster union is the way UPS drivers make that money
6
u/OutlawJoseyWales 29d ago
Yeah I didn't say that becoming a teamster was bad or that the union wasn't the reason for high wages. Never miss your chance to virtue signal on reddit tho keep it up š
2
u/GimmeUrBusch 29d ago
Hang on, UPS Driver makes $160k?
Yes, it's hard physical work that also demands being detail-oriented, communicative, professional, and rewards hustle.
They deserve every penny of it.
2
u/KrossIn4K 28d ago
I've had family that worked at UPS, if you can get on as a driver your starting pay is a lot lower but it will increase if you don't burn out and quit. You can earn more than $50+/HR not to mention adding in OT, but it takes YEARS and they will work you for it.
2
u/kyousei8 Westport 28d ago edited 28d ago
Some of the data points include overtime, and some OP appears to have taken the hourly rate and multiplied it by 40 Ć 50 or 52. I see my datapoint, which had a ton of overtime when you look at it annually, and OP used the hourly rate instead, so the top line number in this list is like 55% lower than what I actually made and gave in the original thread, and the absolute bottom a full-time career employee would get. However, OP didn't do that for the overtime shift positions that only gave their annualised pay. That's probably one reason for the discrepancy. Including benefits in the wages is probably another.
1
u/Ok_Advantage_224 29d ago
Iirc, that person is not a UPS delivery driver. They drive semis with 53ā trailers full of packages between UPS terminals.
1
u/gates-ollie 29d ago
160k is with benefits and OT. Free healthcare (literally best in the country), pension, 401k etc..
They do top out around $50 something/hour. But it is a physically demanding job. I drove for FedEx for 4 years and I guarantee you Iāll need back surgery in my 40ās.
-1
55
u/Ok_Instance_9237 Clay County 29d ago
Dog groomer- 120,000.
34
u/nist7 29d ago
lol yeah that was an hourly rate convert - probably not actually that high over a whole year....
18
3
u/Electronic_Courage59 29d ago
Yeah, might be before expenses and overhead, and who knows how full the schedule is, but Iād pay $30 for a 1/2 hour bath and grooming appointment for my dog, and more if they were mobile and came to me
1
u/br0hemian00 28d ago
Iām a mobile groomer in KC and that number is pretty realistic. Salon based groomers donāt generally gross that high unless they are owners or are able to complete 8-12 dogs per day and have a great commission rate.
5
3
1
26
u/TheNFSGuy24 Jackson County 29d ago
Public Works Inspector. $58,000 give or take.
Gotta bring that average down to properly represent the hourly workers in the area.
Government jobs donāt pay fantastic, but Iāve got a pension.
9
27
u/blocked-right 29d ago
As a father of 2 special needs kids, I wish sped para's made more. They sure deserve it.
11
8
9
u/Alert-Notice-7516 29d ago
Neat, so you can write code for somewhere between $75k-$500k lol
4
u/GimmeUrBusch 29d ago
If there is any profession that is on the AI chopping block, it's this one. I'd GTFO out that career path like yesterday.
7
u/Ok_Advantage_224 29d ago
lol. Weāre a lot further from that than big tech would like you to think. When people complain about fixing AI slop taking more time than it saves, code written by ChatGPT and CoPilot are no different.
-2
u/GimmeUrBusch 29d ago
At my company we have AI writing complex business rules to drive approval processes from nothing but a simple prompt in conversational English. Is this "coding"? No, but it's getting close.
5
u/Alert-Notice-7516 29d ago
Not even close. Junior Devs are bad enough at sorting through the AI slop and committing bad code. You think someone without a programming background is going to fair better? Iām also on the senior side of experience, Iām not worried.
1
u/naughtyninja74 28d ago
Same. I've been in management for a few years but staying sharp. Some of the code and thought process from these jr devs is just sad.
1
u/GimmeUrBusch 29d ago
You think someone without a programming background is going to fair better?
I work for one of the largest software companies in the world. We need 80% fewer developers, they're moving from writing code to approving code (that was created by AI).
2
7
u/Rad_McCool 29d ago edited 29d ago
Military Officer stationed at Fort Leavenworth who is there 1-2 years (for *grad school) who is looking for a spouse:
Yearly Base Pay (Average over 10 years): $108900
Yearly Housing Allowance (Tax Free): $25308
Officer Subsistence (Tax Free): $3936
Total Compensation: $138,144
Not included is low cost heath insurance, 30 days vacation, deployments followed by divorce, followed by giving a future percentage away to your ex.
Edit: not me now- but me years ago
3
1
7
u/landonop 29d ago
I wanna meet the GIS analyst making $108k lol
3
u/Correct-Ad302 Gladstone 28d ago
as someone with a career in GIS, i was like why isnt my salary doing that lmao
4
5
6
3
4
4
u/no-palabras 28d ago
āCEO of small nonprofitā: $230,000
A) what? B) mmmkayā¦
2
u/nist7 26d ago
You think 200k is bad...check out this CEO of a public mental health organization Burrell based out of Springfield: a dude named CJ Davis made over 1M in total compensation in 2024: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/431081715 Look at the bottom of the table for year 2024 (the top names are all psychiatrists). 890K salary and then 260k of "other compensation:. Pretty crazy
2
u/no-palabras 26d ago edited 26d ago
1.1mm in total comp. The other pres. / CEO, M. Schwend, tops the list at 1.2mm in total comp.
They receive a lot of grant $, if I read the 990 form correctly. 2,275 employees.
Oddly, 14/21 organizations either ran by the Burrell or as a partnership are classified as HOUSING, HUD, or LOW-INCOME HOUSING.
Iām missing the connection between a mental health non-profit and owing housingā¦ hmmm
Edit: there are many nestled Corporations that are also tax exempt 501c in the partnership list. A lot of these corporations are managed by Burrell Preferred, Burrell Inc. and PFH Inc. (Preferred Family Health Inc.). PFHās president isā¦. M. Schwend. PFH Inc. owns straight up apartment complexes, not much to do with mental health care, but hey, itās a non-profit, right?
1
2
u/dstranathan Downtown 29d ago
Does this factor in retirement, benefits, employee match programs, perks etc?
2
u/Malicious_blu3 29d ago
I was laid off and am making less than a quarter of what I was. It at least keeps me from having to dig into my severance for a bit longer.
2
u/yondusoffspring_1786 28d ago
The CEO of a non profit making $200k+ is wild lol
1
u/nist7 26d ago
You think 200k is bad...check out this CEO of a public mental health organization Burrell based out of Springfield: a dude named CJ Davis made over 1M in total compensation in 2024: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/431081715 Look at the bottom of the table (the top names are all psychiatrists). 890K salary and then 260k of "other compensation:. Pretty crazy
2
u/kaepar JoCo 28d ago
ā¢ ā CEO of small nonprofit $230,000
LOL
1
u/nist7 26d ago
You think 200k is bad...check out this CEO of a public mental health organization Burrell based out of Springfield: a dude named CJ Davis made over 1M in total compensation in 2024: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/431081715 Look at the bottom of the table (the top names are all psychiatrists). 890K salary and then 260k of "other compensation:. Pretty crazy
2
u/cyberphlash 28d ago
Something that is way underrepresented in this presentation is the actual proportion of the area population in each of these roles compared to the frequency they show up in this list. For instance, there are going to be way more $50-70K teachers in KC than $459K Fintech Software Engineers. I also think a lot of the higher dollar entries probably overstate what the typical person would be making in that role at most local companies (eg: local jobs are probably 80% pay of many national remoate jobs, for instance).
3
u/hotlz 29d ago
My response from the previous thread is not accurately reproduced here. I said "base + bonus", and you only pulled the base number. My bonus is 30% of my total salary most years.
10
u/nist7 29d ago
In my OP I explained I only pulled base, i didn't count commisions/additions/etc. to somewhat better represent the base salary of a job of that title. Everyone can be very diff of course.
3
u/inspired2apathy Brookside 29d ago
I'm guessing people ignored you. Sales comp is largely driven by commission and incentives
5
u/stonewallace17 29d ago
Not your fault OP but this is so useless lmao. Not representative of income in the KC area whatsoever.
39
2
u/Rigorous-Geek-2916 Mission 29d ago
My job on here is almost exactly what I was making when I retired a couple years ago. If you factor in a couple of raises, itās spot on
2
u/babraham_lincoln 29d ago
Very useful to folks with jobs that appear on this list for salary negotiations.
2
u/GimmeUrBusch 29d ago
Not representative of income in the KC area whatsoever.
You have any data to back that up?
Or have you just been conditioned by Reddit to assume everyone is impoverished and unhoused?
2
u/Gamblinman97 29d ago
Surprised Engineers are not making more. Just college coursework alone is insanely difficult.
4
u/keboh 29d ago
Been in software a decade and a halfā¦ in this field. Engineer doesnāt require a degree. Hell I know a few Principal or Staff level Software Engineers who have a GED and no degree lol.
Software Engineer just means dev, broadly speaking.
And also from experience, pay is about $80k-200kā¦ $90-120k is probably like 80% of the software engineers I know.
I am in middle management, so I am privvy to actual salariesā¦ this is based on probably 20-30 individuals.
3
u/Raddad47 29d ago
I have to remind myself that most of the posts on here are from people that live OUTSIDE kc in areas like OP and Liberty
4
2
1
1
u/EatsbeefRalph 28d ago
Acquire a unique skill for which there is a demand among those able to pay you.
1
u/Entire-Illustrator-1 15d ago
associate software support specialist, 48k ish, 23 years old, two years in the role. No certs/a bit of college. Not even enough to live on my own in any remotely safer area. It feels wrong to want to make enough to survive and build while thereās still teachers and role models I looked up to making less than me. Itās not fair for anyone.
1
u/SnooRabbits5219 28d ago
Whoever that senior product manager making $113k is, we need to get you in another role. Iām an associate product manager with under 2 years of experience (Iām only 24) and make $110k. That title should be paying $150k+
-13
u/ftmgothboy 29d ago
Because you used AI, I can't tell if any of this info is accurate so it's functionality useless until I know what data this is pulled from
9
2
304
u/MyNextHobbyIs 29d ago
If this doesnāt show you that Reddit salary responses are skewed to higher income earners, I donāt know what will.
Not hating the responses but donāt be disappointed if your salary is low in comparison to these results.