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Best Trade Programs in Kansas (2026)

Top 100 of 153 programs in Kansas · Updated 2026

The best trade school programs in Kansas, ranked by overall value. We scored 153 programs across Kansas trade schools on earnings, job demand, and tuition ROI. The top programs average $45,966/yr in graduate earnings.

Programs in KS

153

Avg Earnings (Top 100)

$45,966/yr

Avg TSW Score

69/100

#1 Program

Truck Driving & CDL

Johnson County Community College

Top Trade Programs in Kansas

Top 100 programs by TSW Score. Click any row for full analysis.

#	Program	TSW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Truck Driving & CDL Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	95 93–95	$74,114/yr	326.6x
2	Construction Management Technology Flint Hills Technical College · Emporia, KS	75 73–76	$47,694/yr	46.8x
3	Culinary Arts Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	82 80–83	$38,977/yr	85.1x
4	Criminal Justice Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	89 85–91	$55,171/yr	267.6x
5	Nursing Pratt Community College · Pratt, KS	85 80–86	$70,680/yr	81.5x
6	Nursing Labette Community College · Parsons, KS	85 79–85	$66,833/yr	91.6x
7	Nursing Barton County Community College · Great Bend, KS	84 79–85	$63,183/yr	80.1x
8	Nursing Butler Community College · El Dorado, KS	84 79–84	$63,244/yr	88.6x
9	Nursing Cloud County Community College · Concordia, KS	85 79–85	$61,406/yr	106.3x
10	Nursing Coffeyville Community College · Coffeyville, KS	85 80–86	$62,328/yr	100.6x
11	Nursing Colby Community College · Colby, KS	83 77–83	$62,370/yr	76.1x
12	Practical Nursing Donnelly College · Kansas City, KS	74 72–75	$49,147/yr	56.2x
13	Nursing Garden City Community College · Garden City, KS	84 78–84	$61,593/yr	94.5x
14	Nursing Hutchinson Community College · Hutchinson, KS	83 78–84	$60,330/yr	90.4x
15	Nursing Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	88 82–88	$64,303/yr	150.5x
16	Nursing Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	86 80–86	$63,181/yr	111.6x
17	Practical Nursing Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	84 81–85	$48,862/yr	192.8x
18	Nursing Neosho County Community College · Chanute, KS	79 73–80	$61,906/yr	61.2x
19	Nursing Fort Scott Community College · Fort Scott, KS	86 77–86	$55,847/yr	130.9x
20	Practical Nursing Hutchinson Community College · Hutchinson, KS	82 79–82	$45,344/yr	146.0x
21	Electrical Installation Pratt Community College · Pratt, KS	82 79–82	$57,103/yr	139.5x
22	Electrical Installation Pratt Community College · Pratt, KS	76 74–77	$57,325/yr	69.5x
23	Vehicle Repair Technology Wichita State University-Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology · Wichita, KS	68 68–69	$56,315/yr	45.8x
24	Practical Nursing Washburn Institute of Technology · Topeka, KS	72 69–72	$43,321/yr	55.0x
25	Electrical Installation Manhattan Area Technical College · Manhattan, KS	75 70–76	$50,897/yr	74.5x
26	Practical Nursing Washburn University · Topeka, KS	71 69–72	$43,321/yr	52.3x
27	Health Administration Hutchinson Community College · Hutchinson, KS	78 71–80	$42,134/yr	71.7x
28	Business Administration Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	83 75–85	$37,988/yr	105.5x
29	Vehicle Repair Technology Wichita State University-Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology · Wichita, KS	74 72–75	$47,014/yr	95.2x
30	Medical Assisting Hutchinson Community College · Hutchinson, KS	74 72–75	$48,347/yr	69.7x
31	Nursing Manhattan Area Technical College · Manhattan, KS	73 67–73	$59,298/yr	37.5x
32	Practical Nursing Salina Area Technical College · Salina, KS	69 68–70	$38,440/yr	53.8x
33	Practical Nursing Wichita State University-Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology · Wichita, KS	74 70–74	$38,356/yr	78.9x
34	Practical Nursing Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	78 76–79	$36,404/yr	196.8x
35	Electrical Installation Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	77 75–78	$42,224/yr	133.0x
36	Medical Assisting Labette Community College · Parsons, KS	70 67–70	$44,217/yr	54.7x
37	Practical Nursing Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	67 65–68	$45,271/yr	34.2x
38	Practical Nursing Flint Hills Technical College · Emporia, KS	73 67–73	$34,930/yr	83.4x
39	Fire Protection Hutchinson Community College · Hutchinson, KS	73 69–75	$51,007/yr	82.0x
40	Medical Assisting Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	74 69–74	$42,823/yr	80.0x
41	Nursing Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	71 65–71	$68,119/yr	23.8x
42	Vehicle Repair Technology Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	71 70–72	$36,954/yr	124.2x
43	Welding & Metalworking Washburn Institute of Technology · Topeka, KS	58 58–58	$39,720/yr	45.7x
44	Welding & Metalworking Flint Hills Technical College · Emporia, KS	60 59–61	$36,731/yr	58.3x
45	Allied Health Professions Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	76 71–77	$57,656/yr	149.8x
46	Welding & Metalworking Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	67 65–68	$36,248/yr	152.9x
47	Allied Health Professions Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	74 71–74	$61,810/yr	96.2x
48	Electrical Installation Washburn Institute of Technology · Topeka, KS	67 61–67	$37,254/yr	57.1x
49	Vehicle Repair Technology Washburn Institute of Technology · Topeka, KS	62 59–63	$35,875/yr	51.9x
50	Allied Health Professions Washburn Institute of Technology · Topeka, KS	70 66–71	$59,779/yr	73.5x
51	Practical Nursing Manhattan Area Technical College · Manhattan, KS	66 60–67	$32,624/yr	66.0x
52	Electrical Installation Washburn University · Topeka, KS	66 61–67	$37,254/yr	54.3x
53	Vehicle Repair Technology Washburn University · Topeka, KS	61 58–62	$35,875/yr	49.4x
54	Welding & Metalworking Washburn University · Topeka, KS	57 57–58	$39,720/yr	43.5x
55	Allied Health Professions Washburn University · Topeka, KS	70 66–70	$59,779/yr	69.9x
56	Allied Health Professions Hutchinson Community College · Hutchinson, KS	71 68–72	$54,878/yr	85.3x
57	Entrepreneurship Hutchinson Community College · Hutchinson, KS	69 64–71	$34,937/yr	49.6x
58	Dental Assisting Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	74 70–74	$57,969/yr	131.7x
59	Allied Health Professions Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	76 72–77	$53,512/yr	232.5x
60	Allied Health Professions Labette Community College · Parsons, KS	68 66–69	$53,696/yr	66.7x
61	Allied Health Professions Seward County Community College · Liberal, KS	69 66–70	$53,375/yr	70.3x
62	Criminal Justice Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	66 62–67	$47,447/yr	15.1x
63	Accounting Butler Community College · El Dorado, KS	69 63–72	$37,496/yr	56.7x
64	Vehicle Repair Technology Northwest Kansas Technical College · Goodland, KS	60 58–60	$41,638/yr	—
65	Business Administration Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	68 62–70	$43,736/yr	15.5x
66	Agricultural Mechanization Fort Scott Community College · Fort Scott, KS	68 66–69	$56,322/yr	85.9x
67	Mental Health Services Washburn University · Topeka, KS	65 62–66	$42,402/yr	46.5x
68	Accounting Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	67 62–70	$47,506/yr	30.0x
69	Dental Assisting Flint Hills Technical College · Emporia, KS	62 60–62	$55,147/yr	43.5x
70	Medical Assisting Washburn University · Topeka, KS	62 59–63	$45,386/yr	25.2x
71	Welding & Metalworking Wichita State University-Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology · Wichita, KS	56 53–58	$30,515/yr	69.0x
72	HVAC Technology Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	68 67–68	$43,010/yr	135.5x
73	Welding & Metalworking Manhattan Area Technical College · Manhattan, KS	53 53–53	$34,077/yr	35.7x
74	Allied Health Professions Washburn University · Topeka, KS	60 57–61	$55,221/yr	33.2x
75	Allied Health Professions Fort Hays State University · Hays, KS	61 53–62	$39,212/yr	52.7x
76	HVAC Technology Manhattan Area Technical College · Manhattan, KS	58 54–58	$39,131/yr	55.5x
77	Health Administration Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	61 55–64	$33,372/yr	24.2x
78	Health Administration Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	62 56–64	$39,372/yr	12.7x
79	Accounting Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	61 54–64	$43,765/yr	16.0x
80	IT Management Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	61 53–63	$42,043/yr	12.7x
81	Human Resources Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	60 54–62	$45,969/yr	16.5x
82	Business Operations Support Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	57 51–60	$32,345/yr	21.2x
83	Liberal Arts & Humanities Kansas City Kansas Community College · Kansas City, KS	55 55–55	$35,955/yr	65.9x
84	Health Administration Wichita Technical Institute · Wichita, KS	58 51–60	$26,249/yr	—
85	Allied Health Professions Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	56 51–56	$51,036/yr	18.8x
86	Medical Assisting WellSpring School of Allied Health-Wichita · Wichita, KS	55 51–55	$29,815/yr	—
87	Computer Networking Wichita Technical Institute · Wichita, KS	59 49–61	$35,340/yr	—
88	Teacher Education Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	55 52–56	$28,038/yr	17.2x
89	Veterinary Technology Colby Community College · Colby, KS	54 51–54	$36,184/yr	43.7x
90	Radiologic Technology Cowley County Community College · Arkansas City, KS	51 46–54	$42,232/yr	76.6x
91	Legal Support Services Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	67 61–70	$44,921/yr	213.4x
92	Computer Engineering Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	59 48–62	$48,263/yr	22.5x
93	Medical Assisting Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	53 49–53	$35,350/yr	10.7x
94	Design Johnson County Community College · Overland Park, KS	59 55–61	$32,030/yr	80.9x
95	Environmental Technology Wichita Technical Institute · Wichita, KS	50 47–51	$37,895/yr	—
96	Medical Assisting Wichita Technical Institute · Wichita, KS	52 48–52	$25,879/yr	—
97	Teacher Education Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	52 49–54	$28,337/yr	10.1x
98	Medical Assisting Rasmussen University-Kansas · Topeka, KS	52 48–53	$29,532/yr	21.3x
99	Liberal Arts & Humanities Butler Community College · El Dorado, KS	49 47–48	$29,761/yr	52.9x
100	Dental Assisting Flint Hills Technical College · Emporia, KS	52 47–52	$27,671/yr	55.4x

About This Ranking

What we ranked

Best Trades in Kansas ranks 100 programs across the United States by the TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines graduate earnings, return on investment, and job-market demand into a single 0-100 metric.

Data sources

Earnings figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, which tracks graduate income one and five years after program completion. Job-market projections use Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 employment data.

How to read the table

Use the sort controls below the headline to re-rank by earnings, ROI, or other metrics. Click any school name for full earnings projections, three-scenario modeling, and detailed program data. Most students attend a school within driving distance — local rankings are usually more actionable than national.

Caveats & limitations

Rankings reflect what the data can measure: post-graduation earnings, debt levels, and broad labor-market trends. They cannot capture program quality nuances like instructor expertise, hands-on equipment access, or industry connections. Treat rankings as a starting point — visit schools and talk to current students before committing.

Methodology

This ranking includes the top 100 trade programs at Kansas schools, drawn from 153 total programs with earnings data. Programs are ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score (0–100), which combines graduate earnings, job market demand, and tuition ROI.

Only in-state tuition is used for ROI calculations. Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best trade program in Kansas?

By TradeSchoolOutlook Score, Truck Driving & CDL at Johnson County Community College ranks #1 in Kansas with a score of 95/100 and graduate earnings of $74,114/yr.

How many trade programs are in Kansas?

Our database includes 153 trade programs across Kansas schools with reported earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections). Last updated 2025.