Looking at the number of state government employees in proportion to population, Kansas has many compared to other states.
Each year the United States Census Bureau surveys federal, state, and local government civilian employees. I’ve gathered this data and present it in an interactive visualization using several views and supplementary calculations.
The Census Bureau collects both counts of employees and payroll dollars. Comparisons based on the number of employees are useful, bypassing issues such as differing costs of living and salaries in general.
Considering all government functions and state government employees only, Kansas had 18.7 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees per thousand residents in 2019. 12 states had more. These figures are for state government only. Many government employees are employed by local governments such as cities, counties, and school districts. These employees are not included in this visualization.
In the nearby chart showing Kansas and nearby states, the level of employment in Kansas is high and rising for total employment and education employment.
For details and to access the visualization, click on: Visualization: State government employment by state and function.
