High paying transportation jobs in Kansas with no degree

The best paid transportation occupations in Kansas that require no bachelor's degree — a high school diploma, a certificate, or an associate's degree is the typical entry. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Kansas run 9.9% below the national average (2024), so a Kansas salary is worth about 1.11× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Kansas.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find transportation jobs in Kansas

OccupationMedian, Kansas · Employed

1Commercial Pilots$105,440
Postsecondary nondegree award
$49,060 – $175,820680
2Crane and Tower Operators$77,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,840 – $99,500780
3Locomotive Engineers$75,190
High school diploma or equivalent
$60,660 – $78,3001,020
4Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters$68,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,190 – $71,4001,200
5First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$62,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,560 – $92,6907,520
6Wellhead Pumpers$62,400
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,960 – $101,500620
7Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$58,920
Postsecondary nondegree award
$43,760 – $78,91024,220
8Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$47,430
No formal educational credential
$37,910 – $58,6407,700
9Bus Drivers, School$45,860
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,570 – $55,8104,830
10Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$45,510
No formal educational credential
$29,100 – $57,090910
11Packers and Packagers, Hand$44,460
No formal educational credential
$30,060 – $45,3809,900
12Light Truck Drivers$43,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,410 – $70,6209,140
13Driver/Sales Workers$43,180
High school diploma or equivalent
$20,540 – $56,4401,950
14Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$40,250
No formal educational credential
$30,830 – $51,03023,270
15Conveyor Operators and Tenders$40,030
No formal educational credential
$31,770 – $56,100840
16Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$37,370
No formal educational credential
$28,620 – $46,0706,410
17Stockers and Order Fillers$35,450
No formal educational credential
$28,560 – $47,26026,750
18Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$35,440
No formal educational credential
$27,950 – $44,2901,500
19Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$34,670
No formal educational credential
$24,880 – $44,2102,680

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianKansas	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Commercial PilotsPostsecondary nondegree award	$105,440	$49,060 – $175,820	680
2	Crane and Tower OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,100	$49,840 – $99,500	780
3	Locomotive EngineersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$75,190	$60,660 – $78,300	1,020
4	Railroad Conductors and YardmastersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$68,730	$49,190 – $71,400	1,200
5	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,940	$43,560 – $92,690	7,520
6	Wellhead PumpersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,400	$43,960 – $101,500	620
7	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$58,920	$43,760 – $78,910	24,220
8	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$47,430	$37,910 – $58,640	7,700
9	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,860	$33,570 – $55,810	4,830
10	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$45,510	$29,100 – $57,090	910
11	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$44,460	$30,060 – $45,380	9,900
12	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,730	$27,410 – $70,620	9,140
13	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,180	$20,540 – $56,440	1,950
14	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$40,250	$30,830 – $51,030	23,270
15	Conveyor Operators and TendersNo formal educational credential	$40,030	$31,770 – $56,100	840
16	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$37,370	$28,620 – $46,070	6,410
17	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$35,450	$28,560 – $47,260	26,750
18	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$35,440	$27,950 – $44,290	1,500
19	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$34,670	$24,880 – $44,210	2,680

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Kansas. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

More for Kansas

Metro areas in Kansas

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in Kansas

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Kansas to rank honestly.

High paying transportation jobs in Kansas with no degree

More for Kansas

Metro areas in Kansas

By field in Kansas

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state with no degree