Massage therapist pay in Kansas after taxes: what you keep (2026)
The median massage therapist in Kansas earned $47,940 a year in May 2024, which is $23 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 690 massage therapists the BLS counts in Kansas earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $41,890 and $55,000. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Kansas's tax, and Kansas has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 5.58%.
What the median massage therapist keeps in Kansas
For a single filer on the median $47,940, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:
| Line | A year | A month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay (BLS median) | $47,940 | $3,995 |
| Federal income tax | -$3,769 | -$314 |
| Social Security and Medicare (7.65%) | -$3,667 | -$306 |
| Kansas state income tax | -$1,873 | -$156 |
| Take-home | $38,631 | $3,219 |
The state line is 3.9% of gross at this salary, approximated at 70% of the top bracket, which is where a middle income lands in most progressive states. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.
Where Kansas ranks for massage therapist pay
Of the 50 states, Kansas ranks 43 of 50 on the gross median for massage therapists, in the bottom ten. The highest-paying state is Alaska at $135,200 and the lowest is Arkansas at $31,280. Gross rank is not take-home rank: a state with no income tax climbs several places once the state line is applied, and a high-tax state drops.
Across the border
The same job in the states next to Kansas, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:
| State | Gross median | State tax | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | $47,940 | $1,873 | $38,631 |
| Missouri | $66,870 | $2,200 | $53,002 |
| Colorado | $59,560 | $2,621 | $47,220 |
| Nebraska | $55,080 | $2,005 | $44,235 |
| Oklahoma | $48,140 | $1,601 | $39,063 |
Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma leave a massage therapist with more at the end of the year than Kansas does; Missouri by about $14,371. Pay is one line; rent is the other, and a higher median in a metro with higher rent can leave you with less.
Where the massage therapist jobs are in Kansas
The BLS count of 690 massage therapists is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Wichita, Overland Park, Kansas City and Topeka, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($55,000 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Kansas openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.
Kansas also has programs that pay people to move in: Choose Topeka (up to $15,000, for people who take a job in Shawnee County or move there as remote workers; the employer matches part of it) and Rural Opportunity Zones (student loan repayment up to $15,000 over five years, plus an income tax waiver in some counties, for graduates moving to one of the designated rural counties). Each has a residence condition and a funding round; the amount is the program's own "up to" figure.
What people get wrong about massage therapist pay in Kansas
- Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Kansas is $24 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($23) is what the typical massage therapist makes.
- Comparing gross across states. A $47,940 offer in Kansas is $38,631 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $40,504.
- Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $45,940 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $50,940 without it.
- Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Wichita pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.
Everything about Kansas, on one page
The Kansas page has the licence registries and boards, the state tax at three salaries, the programs that pay you to come, and the openings filed in Kansas this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Kansas employers hiring from out of state.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates for Massage therapist. Tax lines are a single filer with the standard deduction, 2024 federal brackets, and the state rate in lib/us-states.ts; progressive states are approximated. Not tax advice.
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