Kansas·Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations·SOC 49-3023

Best Automotive Service Technician programs in Kansas, ranked by enrollment

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive.

21 schools in Kansas run programs that feed this job, graduating 755 people a year. The job pays a median of $47,790 in Kansas across about 6,240 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledMechanicAutomotive Technician (Auto Tech)Service Technician (Service Tech)Automotive Mechanic (Auto Mechanic)FramerBrakemanDetailerFrameman
Graduates / yr
755
in Kansas
Median pay · Kansas
$47,790
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
6,240
people employed
Schools
21
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
50%
across those schools
Median net price
$24,595
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Kansas that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

4 programs in Kansas that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Kansas (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kansas page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 47.0604In Kansas
490
64.9%
18$37,089$11,790
2
CIP 47.0613In Kansas
178
23.6%
8$37,089$11,790
3
CIP 15.0803In Kansas
68
9.0%
2$61,021$24,436
4
CIP 47.0614In Kansas
19
2.5%
1$37,089$11,790

Top 21 schools in Kansas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 21 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Fort Hays State University - Northwest Kansas Technical College
Goodland, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
107Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician$41,63873%
2Washburn Institute of Technology
Topeka, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
82Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician$35,87568%
3Kansas City Kansas Community College
Kansas City, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
72Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician$36,95442%
4Wichita State University - Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology
Wichita, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
70Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician$47,01443%
5Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
50Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician$57,23457%89%
6Flint Hills Technical College
Emporia, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
47Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician68%
7Johnson County Community College
Overland Park, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
45Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician31%
8McPherson College
McPherson, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
37Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician$42,27834%$24,59577%
9Hutchinson Community College
Hutchinson, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
35Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician53%
10Manhattan Area Technical College
Manhattan, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
33Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician74%
11Salina Area Technical College
Salina, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
32Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician68%
12Fort Hays Tech North Central
Beloit, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
24Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician78%
13Butler Community College
El Dorado, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
17Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician32%
14Coffeyville Community College
Coffeyville, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
17Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician38%
15Cowley County Community College
Arkansas City, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
16Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician45%
16Highland Community College
Highland, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
16Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician39%
17Seward County Community College
Liberal, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
15Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician50%
18Pratt Community College
Pratt, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
14Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician45%
19Neosho County Community College
Chanute, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
13Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician34%
20Garden City Community College
Garden City, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
9Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician50%
21Dodge City Community College
Dodge City, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
4Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician35%

All 21 schools in Kansas

Every school in Kansas with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Kansas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Fort Hays State University - Northwest Kansas Technical CollegeGoodlandPublic1072
Washburn Institute of TechnologyTopekaPublic822
Kansas City Kansas Community CollegeKansas CityPublic721
Wichita State University - Campus of Applied Sciences and TechnologyWichitaPublic702
Pittsburg State UniversityPittsburgPublic502
Flint Hills Technical CollegeEmporiaPublic471
Johnson County Community CollegeOverland ParkPublic451
McPherson CollegeMcPhersonPrivate not-for-profit371
Hutchinson Community CollegeHutchinsonPublic351
Manhattan Area Technical CollegeManhattanPublic331
Salina Area Technical CollegeSalinaPublic322
Fort Hays Tech North CentralBeloitPublic242
Butler Community CollegeEl DoradoPublic172
Coffeyville Community CollegeCoffeyvillePublic171
Cowley County Community CollegeArkansas CityPublic161

What automotive service technicians and mechanics earn in Kansas

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Kansas
$47,790
Mean annual
$52,760
Jobs in state
6,240
What the range looks like
10th pct$31,970Median$47,79090th pct$77,340
Versus the national median
-5.6%

U.S. median $50,620. Kansas pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.96×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Kansas

Topeka, KS
$48,320median
510 jobs
Lawrence, KS
$47,880median
240 jobs
Wichita, KS
$47,800median
1,330 jobs
Manhattan, KS
$44,410median
240 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.2%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
70,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
33,600
805,600 → 839,200
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Plus short-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics page.

How to become a Automotive Service Technician

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Kansas

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 8 majors mapped to Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics8 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.0803Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.0807Motorsports Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 47.0600Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technology/Technician, General
  • 47.0604Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician
  • 47.0612Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Technology/Technician
  • 47.0613Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician
  • 47.0614Alternative Fuel Vehicle Technology/Technician
  • 47.0617High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic

Common questions

Answers for people weighing automotive service technicians and mechanics programs in Kansas.

What degree do you need to become an Automotive Service Technician?+

Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician, which awarded 490 degrees in Kansas in 2024-25, 64.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Automotive Service Technician?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians, Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 755 people a year in Kansas.

How much do automotive service technicians and mechanics earn in Kansas?+

The median is $47,790 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.6% below the U.S. median of $50,620. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for automotive service technicians and mechanics growing?+

BLS projects a +4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 70,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Kansas?+

21 institutions in Kansas reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do automotive service technicians and mechanics work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Mechanic, Automotive Technician (Auto Tech), Service Technician (Service Tech), Automotive Mechanic (Auto Mechanic) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-3023.

Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics in other statesCaliforniaTexasArizonaIllinoisGeorgiaNorth CarolinaColoradoFlorida

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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