KC tech job openings exploded in 2025
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The Kansas City metro is outperforming its size in tech job demand, according to a new report by the KC Tech Council.
Why it matters: It's a good sign for the region's workforce, which has faced significant tech downsizing in recent years.
By the numbers: Kansas City is the 31st largest metro in the nation, but it ranks No. 26 in net tech employment, beating out bigger metros like Nashville, per the report.
- The tech sector represents 7% of the regional economy and 6.5% of the workforce, generating an economic impact of $13.1 billion.
Stunning stat: Open tech job postings jumped 7.4% in KC from 2024 to 2025, compared with 1.6% nationally.
Yes, but: Job postings aren't the same as employees. Net tech employment stayed relatively flat from 2021 to 2025 after jobs left the metro in 2024 and 2025.
Context: The tech company landscape has been shifting for years. After Oracle bought Cerner in 2022, it cut more than 5,000 local tech jobs in three years, with more than 500 additional layoffs in 2026.
- Meanwhile, Fiserv announced an Overland Park financial tech hub in 2025. The KC Tech Council said it would bring more than 2,000 tech-related jobs to the local workforce.
The intrigue: Cybersecurity is a burgeoning sector driven by AI's rapid growth.
- Tenex.AI, a local cybersecurity startup that raised $27 million in 2025, partnered with the Chiefs this year and has quadrupled its workforce since last year to more than 200 employees.
- Optiv last month moved its headquarters from Denver to Leawood, with plans to hire in the area, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.
What they're saying: "For any of you that are fearing the AI way of taking all these jobs, we actually look at this as the opposite," Tenex.AI co-founder Ryan Shreve said at a Back2KC event on Friday. "You actually need really intelligent people" running it all.
- "There's going to be all new industries we're not thinking about years from now" as AI proliferates, Shreve added.
- He also acknowledged that AI is part of the problem: "You're going to need AI to combat the AI bad actors."
Friction point: Some tech leaders and politicians are calling for a slowdown in rapid AI development, though President Trump last week disagreed with putting new guardrails in place.
- The KC Tech Council met this month with industry leaders and U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), who advocated for federal AI regulation.
- Marshall has said any regulation should not undermine national security.
What's next: Kara Lowe, CEO of the KC Tech Council, says they're working to better connect training, skills and available jobs.
The bottom line: KC's tech industry isn't where it could be, but the opportunities are growing.