Your Kansas City tax dollars fund the salaries of over 4,000 city employees, including park rangers, paralegals, firefighters, and bus drivers. But who earns the most?
Governments are required by law to disclose how much they pay their employees, and The Kansas City Star obtained municipal salary data via a Sunshine Law request.
County, state, and federal officials are excluded. This is because they are paid from those governments’ budgets. The Star previously reported on the highest-paid Kansas and Missouri state employees in 2024.
People who left public service in 2024 earned the top three highest total salaries, which included a pension.
Brian Platt, city manager and No. 6 on the list, received a pay raise midway through the year after accepting a job offer in Austin. On Thursday, Platt was suspended with pay after the city lost a lawsuit alleging that he directed communications employees to lie to the public.
In 2024, the Kansas City Fire Department employed 19 out of the top 25 highest-paid city employees. According to city audits and Star reporting, firefighters working long hours of overtime have been a problem for nearly ten years.
Elected officials were not among the city’s highest-paid employees: Mayor Quinton Lucas received $163,081 in 2024, while city council members received $81,538.
The total pay includes base salary, overtime, bonuses, pensions and other financial compensation. The top 25 employees received a maximum bonus of $1,500.
Here are how much the highest paid Kansas City employees received in 2024. If you are unable to access the database, follow this link .
