Riley County, KS jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Riley County economy

• 3.6%

  unemployment, Sep 2026

  3.3% the month before

• 36,434

  in the labor force

  Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

• 71,710

  people in Riley County

  Source: U.S. Census Bureau

• $59,560

  median household income

  Source: Census ACS

• 45%

  of workers in white-collar occupations

  Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Riley County outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

• Private-sector jobs up 7.0% from 2022 to 2025
• Population up 0.8% from 2020 to 2025
• Unemployment 3.6%, up 0.3 points from a year ago
• Sectors adding the most jobs: construction (+418 jobs)

Learn and get funded in Riley County

• Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
• Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
• Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
• Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

Riley County layoffs

No layoff notices naming Riley County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Riley County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

1. Kansas State University14 open roles
2. Agricultural Research Service6 open roles
3. Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology3 open roles
4. Distinct | North America2 open roles
5. LHH2 open roles
6. Merrick Medical Center2 open roles
7. United States Army Installation Management Command2 open roles
8. Albert Bow1 open role
9. AmeriPro Roofing1 open role
10. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service1 open role

Largest employers headquartered in Riley County

• Kansas State University1,001–5,000 employees

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Colleges in Riley County

Conferences in Riley County

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Riley County. 1 with dates announced.

All conferences

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Riley County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Kansas? How to file for unemployment in Kansas (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

• Kansas Local Area I Workforce Development Board

  Atchison, Barber, Barton, Brown, Chase, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Comanche, Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Kearny, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Mitchell, Morris, Morton, Nemaha, Ness, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Rawlins, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Scott, Seward, Shawnee, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Thomas, Trego, Wabaunsee, Wallace, Washington, Wichita

• Manhattan Workforce Center

  Manhattan · Comprehensive · 785-539-5691

  8:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m.

Cities in Riley County

Other Kansas counties