While Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt recently announced an effort to grow Oklahoma’s role in the space and aircraft industry; Oklahoma did not receive the highest marks in a recently released national ranking of the top metro areas for aerospace and defense manufacturing.
Oklahoma City is home to Tinker Air Force Base, Boeing Industries and dozens of other manufacturing firms in the industry, but the top honors in the list prepared by Global Location Strategies based in South Carolina, declared the top metro area for the industry is none other than Wichita, Kansas.
It ranked as the top city in its 2026 list of best places for aerospace and defense manufacturing, beating Ogen, Utah and Dayton, Ohio. The list, part of a 112-page report, was released in recent days and as part of its findings, the firm said Wichita has an “unmatched concentration of aerospace manufacturing, engineering talent, supplier depth, and industrial capacity.”
The firm considered nearly 400 metro areas in the U.S., according to the report. In today’s aerospace business environment, the firm said an area’s ability to “rapidly scale manufacturing, secure skilled workers, strengthen supply chains, and deliver production at speed” are important for success. The Wichita metro area, the report said, was one of a number of established aerospace and defense regions across the country, which helped give it a leg up when compared to other areas.
In the overall ranking, Tulsa was 17th and Oklahoma City 34th.
The list included a breakdown by regions. The region called the West South Central is anchored by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, one of the nation’s largest aerospace manufacturing centers with strengths in military aviation and defense systems. Oklahoma City, OK, a leading aerospace manufacturing and aircraft sustainment hub. The region also hosts several nationally significant space assets,
including:
+ Johnson Space Center and Houston Spaceport in Houston
+ Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans
+ Starbase Boca Chica in Brownsville and Midland International Air
and Space Port, which are emerging commercial space hubs
The West South Central Region, which includes 46 metros spanning from Oklahoma through Louisiana, offers the second-lowest average operating costs of any region in the
country, driven by utility costs roughly 35% below the national average and competitive labor and real estate costs, according to the Global Location Strategies report.
The report ranked Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas as number one in the region followed by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas second. Tulsa raked number three followed by Oklahoma City and San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas.
Oklahoma strategy
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt along with the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics and the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority want to improve Oklahoma’s standing in the race for jobs, investment, and federal contracts.
“We’re going to be top 10 in everything we do,” said Governor Kevin Stitt. “We’ve been building the backbone of the aerospace industry and we do it better than anyone else. By seizing this moment, we are creating generations of quality, good paying jobs for our kids and grandkids. This is a critical moment, and we are prepared to take it.”
The global space economy is worth $630 billion and is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035. States that build a coordinated plan now stand to capture the lion’s share of that growth: the jobs, companies, and tax revenue that come with it. Oklahoma’s Space Advantage Strategy is designed to make sure Oklahoma is one of them.
Oklahoma Has the Foundation
“Oklahoma isn’t starting from scratch. We’re building our legacy and creating the next Aerospace frontier right here in the heartland,” said Oklahoma Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell. “Aerospace and defense is already the state’s second-largest and fastest-growing industry, supporting more than 120,000 jobs and $44 billion in annual economic activity. This strategy will ensure Oklahoma continues to be at the leading edge of aerospace innovation and technology for decades to come.”
Oklahoma is home to the first ever FAA-licensed inland commercial spaceport, the FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, the two largest aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations in the world: Tinker Air Force Base, the largest military air depot in the country and American Airlines’ Tulsa base, the largest commercial MRO facility on Earth. The state also has a deep advanced manufacturing base that includes companies ranging from fewer than 10 employees to more than 1,500.
Wichita, the report said, benefits from strong supplier networks, specialized talent pools, and long-term investment into the industry. Wichita also benefits from “competitive costs” when compared to some of the other areas studied, including those on the coasts. “Wichita is well positioned for continued investment and growth,” the report said. “For decades, aerospace and defense companies competed on technological superiority,” said Didi Caldwell, president and CEO of the firm in a statement. “Today, the competitive advantage is increasingly defined by industrial readiness. The regions that can build, hire, and scale manufacturing quickly will attract the next generation of investment.”
