Electrical Engineering in Kansas

📊 Employment Overview

Kansas employs 1,709 electrical engineering professionals, representing approximately 0.9% of the national workforce in this field. Kansas ranks #33 nationally for electrical engineering employment.

💰 Salary Information

Electrical Engineering professionals in Kansas earn competitive salaries across all experience levels, with an average annual salary of $100,000.

Note: Salaries are adjusted for cost of living and local market conditions. Data based on BLS statistics and industry surveys (2024-2025).

🎓 Schools Offering Electrical Engineering

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🚀 Career Insights

Key information for electrical engineering professionals in Kansas.

🏢 Industry Landscape & Top Employers

Kansas's electrical engineering market — 1,709 engineers earning an average of $100,000 — is defined by one of the nation's most concentrated general aviation and business jet manufacturing clusters, a significant defense and military electronics presence, and a growing renewable energy sector. Wichita's self-proclaimed title as the "Air Capital of the World" is well-earned: more general aviation aircraft are manufactured in Wichita than anywhere else on earth, and the electrical systems that control these aircraft are designed and tested by Kansas engineers.

Major Employers: Textron Aviation (Cessna and Beechcraft brands, Wichita) employs electrical engineers for aircraft avionics, electrical system design, and cabin electronics for piston aircraft, turboprops, and business jets. Spirit AeroSystems (Wichita) manufactures aircraft fuselage structures and sub-assemblies for Boeing and Airbus, employing EEs for manufacturing automation, structural health monitoring sensors, and electrical system integration for aircraft sections. Garmin (Olathe) — the GPS and aviation electronics giant — employs hundreds of EEs for GPS receiver design, aviation display systems, autopilots, ADS-B equipment, and consumer navigation products. Garmin is one of Kansas's most sought-after engineering employers, with a reputation for excellent culture and technically challenging work. Bombardier Learjet (Wichita) designs and manufactures Learjet and Challenger business jets, employing EEs for aircraft electrical systems. McConnell Air Force Base (Wichita) hosts B-1B Lancer and KC-135 tanker operations with associated defense contractor electronics support. Evergy (Kansas City metro) employs power systems engineers for the utility serving northeastern Kansas.

Renewable Energy: Kansas's central plains geography and reliable winds make it one of the top wind energy states in the nation. Wind farms extending across the western two-thirds of the state have made Kansas a national leader in wind generation as a percentage of electricity consumed, creating demand for EEs in wind project development, substation engineering, and grid operations.

Defense Technology: Fort Leavenworth (Leavenworth) is home to the Army's Command and General Staff College and associated Army Combined Arms Center — with growing cybersecurity and information warfare programs that employ EEs. Fort Riley (Junction City) hosts the 1st Infantry Division with associated electronics and communications contractor work.

📈 Career Growth & Pathways

Kansas EE careers are shaped by the aviation electronics sector — either in aircraft manufacturing systems or in the avionics products that equip those aircraft — with Garmin's innovative culture and Textron's established aerospace programs providing distinct but complementary career environments.

Typical Career Trajectory:

• Junior Electrical Engineer (0–2 years): $65,000–$85,000 — Garmin, Textron Aviation, Spirit AeroSystems, and Evergy are the primary entry employers. Kansas State University and Wichita State University's engineering programs feed directly into the aviation cluster.
• Mid-Level Engineer (3–7 years): $85,000–$112,000 — Garmin engineers who develop GPS receiver design or aviation display expertise are in strong demand both within Garmin and nationally. Textron Aviation EEs with aircraft electrical system integration and FAA certification experience command meaningful premiums.
• Senior Engineer (7–12 years): $112,000–$145,000 — Technical leadership in aviation electronics or GPS/navigation product development. Senior Garmin engineers setting technical direction for new avionics product lines or leading FAA TSO certification programs represent the premium tier.
• Principal/Staff Engineer (12+ years): $145,000–$185,000+ — Technical fellows at Garmin and senior system architects at Textron Aviation or Spirit. Garmin in particular is known for retaining technical talent at senior levels with competitive compensation and a distinctively appealing culture.

Garmin Advantage: Garmin is frequently cited as one of the best engineering employers in the Midwest — known for strong product culture, technical challenges spanning consumer electronics and certified aviation avionics, competitive compensation relative to Olathe's cost of living, and a culture that encourages long-term employee retention. Engineers who join Garmin early in their careers often stay for decades, building deep expertise in GPS, aviation, marine, and outdoor recreation electronics.

💰 Salary vs. Cost of Living

Kansas's $100,000 average EE salary in one of the most affordable states in the nation creates strong purchasing power — particularly in the Kansas City metro (Olathe/Overland Park area) and Wichita, where housing remains dramatically cheaper than coastal markets.

Kansas City Metro (Olathe / Overland Park): The most expensive Kansas market, with cost of living roughly 5–10% below the national average. Median home prices of $310,000–$400,000 are accessible for EE households. Olathe's suburban environment — excellent schools, new housing, clean commercial corridors — is precisely the kind of community where Garmin engineers tend to put down deep roots. Rent for a two-bedroom apartment averages $1,200–$1,600/month.

Wichita: More affordable than the Kansas City suburbs — cost of living 20–25% below the national average with median home prices of $185,000–$270,000. Aviation engineers at Textron, Spirit, and Bombardier enjoy exceptional purchasing power. Wichita's modest size means commutes are short and community connections are strong.

No Personal Property Tax on Vehicles: Kansas has no state property tax on vehicles, which reduces the ongoing cost of car ownership — a meaningful benefit in a car-dependent state. The state's income tax (top rate 5.7%) is moderate but not negligible at engineering salary levels.

Purchasing Power: An EE earning $100,000 in Olathe takes home approximately $75,000–$77,000 after federal and state taxes. In the Kansas City suburb market, this income supports comfortable homeownership within 3–5 years of practice — significantly earlier than in any coastal market.

📜 Licensing & Professional Development

Kansas's EE professional development landscape reflects its aviation-heavy employer base, with FAA-related certifications and aerospace standards expertise being the primary career differentiators.

The Kansas State Board of Technical Professions administers PE licensure via the standard FE → 4 Years Experience → PE Exam pathway. Kansas has reciprocity with neighboring states, and PE licensure is particularly relevant for power utility engineers at Evergy and consulting electrical engineers serving Kansas's industrial sector.

High-Value Credentials in Kansas:

• FAA Technical Standard Order (TSO) / Part 21 Certification: For Garmin and Textron engineers developing FAA-approved avionics, understanding the FAA's technical standard order authorization process, DO-160G environmental qualification, and Part 21 production approval is foundational. Engineers who have personally led TSO applications are rare and highly valued.
• RTCA DO-254 / DO-178C: Complex airborne electronic hardware and software design assurance standards — essential for any engineer at Garmin, Textron, or Spirit working on certified aviation electronics.
• ADS-B / NextGen Aviation Standards: Garmin is a leading manufacturer of ADS-B avionics equipment, and engineers with expertise in aviation surveillance, datalink communications (ACARS, FANS), and NextGen airspace technology are particularly valuable.
• NERC CIP / Grid Cybersecurity: For Evergy power systems engineers, NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection standards familiarity is important as grid cybersecurity requirements expand.
• Spirit AeroSystems Composites / Structural Electronics: Spirit's unique position manufacturing fuselage sections creates specialized demand for EEs who understand structural health monitoring sensor integration and the electrical systems embedded in composite aircraft structures.

Education: Wichita State University has strong industry ties to the aviation cluster through its National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) — a unique applied research facility that co-locates university engineers with aviation industry partners. Kansas State University (Manhattan) is the broader research university, and the University of Kansas (Lawrence) feeds Garmin and Kansas City area employers.

📊 Job Market Outlook

Kansas's EE market is expected to grow moderately, driven by commercial aviation recovery, Garmin's product expansion, and the state's growing renewable energy infrastructure.

General Aviation Growth: General aviation activity has surged post-pandemic as wealthy individuals and corporations invest in private aircraft to avoid commercial aviation crowding. Textron Aviation's Cessna and Beechcraft order books are strong, and Bombardier's Learjet and Challenger jets serve a growing global business jet market. This sustained demand keeps Kansas's aviation electronics engineering community fully employed.

Garmin Product Expansion: Garmin continues to expand beyond its aviation and GPS roots into fitness wearables, marine electronics, automotive OEM navigation, and trucking fleet technology. Each new product line requires EE talent — from hardware design to regulatory certification — and Garmin's Olathe campus continues to grow alongside the company's broadening portfolio.

Electric Aircraft Development: The emerging electric aviation sector — from electric training aircraft to hybrid business jets — is creating new EE specializations in aircraft power electronics, battery management systems, and electric motor drives for aerospace applications. Kansas's established aviation manufacturing expertise positions its engineers well for this transition, though the timeline for commercial scale remains uncertain.

Wind Energy Operations: Kansas's wind farms require ongoing maintenance and upgrade programs, creating steady demand for power electronics engineers, substation specialists, and SCADA system engineers. As Kansas expands its wind portfolio and potentially develops transmission infrastructure to export excess renewable generation to neighboring states, grid engineering demand will grow.

🕐 Day in the Life

Electrical engineering in Kansas means designing the GPS that navigates your hiking trip, the avionics that guide a business jet across the Atlantic, or the wind farm that powers a Kansas city — all within a state where an engineer's salary genuinely affords a comfortable, spacious life.

At Garmin (Olathe): The campus feels like a product company that deeply respects engineering — clean, modern facilities with dedicated RF chambers, GPS signal simulators, and avionics bench test labs. A day might involve simulating GPS signal acquisition in a software environment, reviewing antenna pattern measurements for a new marine chart plotter, or running DO-160G vibration tests on an aviation display unit destined for business jet cockpits. Garmin engineers often work across multiple product lines — someone might spend the morning debugging a cycling computer GPS algorithm and the afternoon on a cockpit display integration — giving breadth that pure-defense or pure-industrial environments don't provide.

At Textron Aviation (Wichita): Aircraft electrical system engineers work in a manufacturing and design environment where the airplane being built is visible on the factory floor. A day might involve reviewing wire harness routing drawings for a new Citation business jet variant, performing ground power testing at an aircraft electrical load analysis station, or troubleshooting an avionics bus communication issue during final assembly. The Wichita aviation community is tight-knit — engineers at Textron, Spirit, and Bombardier know each other, and the city's identity is bound up with aircraft manufacturing in a way unique in the United States.

Lifestyle: Wichita and Olathe offer classically affordable Midwestern lives — large homes, low traffic, strong community connections, and the genuine pride of living in a place that built the Cessna, Beechcraft, and Learjet. The Kansas prairie landscape isn't dramatic in the way of Colorado's mountains, but the wide skies, wildlife-rich wetlands at Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms, and the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie offer a quiet, profound beauty that grows on residents. The Kansas City metro's Plaza, Nelson-Atkins Museum, and vibrant Crossroads arts district are an hour east for urban entertainment.

🔄 Compare with Other States

See how Kansas compares to other top states for electrical engineering: