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State files updated Oct 27, 2026
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Carpenter in a hard hat nailing floor framing with a hammer

Home / General Contractors / Kansas

How to become a general contractor in Kansas

Most general contractors in Kansas start in an apprenticeship or a helper job and learn on the job. The contractor license comes later, if you run your own business.

13registered apprenticeship programs$36.91median an hour in Kansas

Pick your way in

Apprenticeship

Earn while you learn

A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.

Pay
From day one
In KS
13 registered programs
Find a program near you
Trade school

Classroom first

Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.

Pay
You pay tuition
In KS
8 schools with programs
Compare 8 schools
Helper

Start on a crew

Get hired as a helper by a licensed general contractor and log hours on the job.

Pay
Paid on the job
Start
No experience needed
How to get started

The license steps

  1. Get hired or start training

    Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.

    Compare the ways in
  2. Work as a general contractor

    Median pay in Kansas is $36.91 an hour.

    General Contractor pay in Kansas
  3. Run your own shop

    Kansas has no state general contractor license. Cities and counties license general contractors, so check with the building department where you work.

    Issued by
    City or county
    Licensing in Kansas
Pay once you're working

$76,780

a year is the median for general contractors in Kansas ($36.91 an hour, May 2025).3

Pay by city and percentile
  1. Lawrence$37.94
  2. Manhattan$37.82
  3. Topeka$37.21
  4. Wichita$36.73
Kansas median $36.91 an hour

Questions

Do you need a license to work on your own as a general contractor in Kansas?

Kansas has no state general contractor license; cities and counties license contractors.1

Are general contractors in demand in Kansas?

Projections Central expects about 750 general contractor openings a year in Kansas through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.2

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

13 registered programs in Kansas. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.

Find a program

More for general contractors in Kansas

Sources

  1. Kansas contractor licensing (ksrevisor.org)
  2. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  3. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Kansas, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)