New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that only 30 of the 105 counties in Kansas saw employment increase between 2015 and 2025.
The five counties with the highest percentage of employment gains are: Neosho, Pottawatomie, Miami, Atchison, and Wyandotte. Johnson and Sedgwick counties are ranked #6 and #7, respectively.
The five counties with the largest employment losses are: Haskell, Lane, Brown, Mitchell, and Greeley. Neosho County has the largest gain at 28% more jobs, while Greeley County lost the most, declining by 32%.
Overall, total employment grew by 5.3% in Kansas, including government and private-sector jobs, which is less than half of the 11.7% national average.
Subsidies and tax-and-spend decisions have negative employment, population consequences
Anemic employment and population growth have been the norm for five decades, and that won’t change with state and local elected officials banking on subsidies to solve the state’s economic woes. TIFs (tax increment financing), CIDs (community improvement districts), STAR (sales tax and revenue) bonds, and the rest of the alphabet soup of subsidies have been the primary economic development tools despite volumes of evidence showing that giving taxpayers’ money to a few companies does not change the economic trajectory of a city or state.
The state legislature took the first step on income tax reform in 2024, but it was much less than needed because Governor Kelly, the Democrats, and some Republicans weren’t willing to cut wasteful spending. In fact, the state continues to spend several hundred million dollars more than it takes in.
Governor Kelly and many of the same legislators also repeatedly stand in the way of property tax relief for much the same reason: they are more concerned about the impact on local government spending than on people being taxed out of their homes.
Look at the enormous property tax increases in the table above. Only 30 counties (shaded green) have tax increases at or below the combined change in population and inflation. Some counties are making responsible spending decisions, largely as a result of the Truth in Taxation revenue-neutral legislation passed in 2021.
Most state and local elected officials who say they are for income and property tax relief but vote against them are unlikely to change their stripes. Taxpayers need to dump those who say one thing and do another, and replace them with people who commit upfront to vote for (not simply say they ‘support’) state and local reductions of taxes and unnecessary spending.
