Distinguished Engineer.
Kansas City.
$193,000
median salary, 8% below the national average
$169,000 to $227,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
Kansas City is 7% cheaper than the national average. For Distinguished Engineers, that shakes out to a median of $193,000, with the full range spanning $169,000 to $227,000. Distinguished engineers are compensated for industry-level impact and long-term technical vision. Know the range before you walk in. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Distinguished Engineer in Kansas City, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $124,990 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in the Kansas City, MO-KS metropolitan area, based on 12,160 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$76,340
25th percentile
$97,560
Median
$124,990
75th percentile
$139,820
90th percentile
$169,440
Workers surveyed
12,160
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $193,000 is 54% higher than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Software Developers covers a different population than the Distinguished Engineer title as it is typically advertised. Both are shown, unreconciled, so you can judge which one describes the job you mean.
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) rather than Distinguished Engineer specifically. The Kansas Cityrange at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 15-1252Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $174,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$125,000
to $154,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$164,000
to $203,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$212,000
to $251,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$241,000
to $299,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $51,000 to the total package.
Base
$193,000
Equity
$29,000
Bonus
$18,000
Signing
$4,000
Estimated total: $244,000
How Kansas City compares.
Kansas City, MO
$193,000
Cost of living: 7% below average
National Average
$210,000
Kansas City is $17,000 below
Distinguished Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Kansas City.
What you should know.
Here is what the Distinguished Engineer market actually looks like in Kansas City. Kansas City straddles Missouri and Kansas, creating a unique dual state job market with strong logistics, tech, and agriculture technology sectors. The metro's central location has made it a hub for distribution centers and supply chain companies. Cerner's healthcare IT presence and a growing startup scene have boosted demand for technology professionals. Distinguished engineers are compensated for industry-level impact and long-term technical vision. These are among the most senior individual contributor roles, requiring deep expertise in a domain combined with the ability to shape product and engineering strategy. External reputation through publications, patents, and conference keynotes is often part of the evaluation criteria.
Distinguished engineers typically have 15 to 25+ years of experience and have made contributions that shaped their organization or industry. The next level is Fellow, which exists at only the largest companies and represents five to ten individuals. Corporate Fellow total compensation can exceed $2,000,000. In Kansas City, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. RSUs at major tech companies add $200,000 to $800,000+ annually. Total compensation regularly exceeds $800,000 to $1,500,000 at the largest companies. Retention packages, sabbaticals, and advisory board positions are common. Some receive profit sharing or business-outcome-linked bonuses. And on the tax side: missouri's top income tax rate is about 4.8%, and Kansas City adds a 1% earnings tax. Workers living in Kansas face that state's rates instead. Choose your side of the state line carefully. When someone quotes you $193,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Negotiate which side of the state line you will be based on. Your tax situation differs meaningfully between Missouri and Kansas, and some employers offer flexibility on office location. The range for Distinguished Engineers in Kansas City runs from $169,000 to $227,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
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Common questions.
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