Aerospace Market Structure Figure 3 provides a more detailed economic profile across 26 subgroups which emphasize the smaller components of the industry, particularly private sector establishments. The structure of the Greater Oklahoma City aerospace market is best characterized as having: • a extensive public sector presence; • a large and growing private maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector; • a significant concentration of aerospace engineering, consulting, and logistics firms; • an air transportation sector consistent with population; • a nascent but strategic aircraft and parts manufacturing presence; and • a range of specialized firms engaged in education, training, and other specialized aerial services. Federal Anchor: Tinker AFB and FAA Center At the center of the region’s aerospace complex are two key federal complexes – Tinker AFB and the FAA’s Monroney Center. 3 Tinker AFB is the largest single-site employer in the region and provides jobs for nearly 27,000 federal civilian workers, civilian contract workers, active-duty military, and Reserve/Guard members. The activities at Tinker AFB include a large MRO operation for military aircraft and a range of high-skill aerospace-related service occupations, with large numbers of workers engaged in program management and logistics activities. Smaller groups of Department of Defense (DoD) employees with a focus on information technology are also housed at Tinker AFB. The base generated $3.6 billion in output and $2 billion in compensation for workers in 2025. Workers at Tinker AFB comprise almost 60% of the total regional aerospace workforce. The FAA’s Monroney Center is located on the grounds of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City and is home to the highest concentration of Department of Transportation workers outside the Washington D.C. area. The Center provides consulting, engineering, repair, distribution, and technical support for air traffic control services in the United States and abroad. Approximately 5,100 federal civilian employees and contractors work at the campus and comprise 11% of the OKC region aerospace labor force 4 . These jobs are largely high-skill and generated total compensation of $570 million in fiscal year 2024. Total employment at federal government-related aerospace entities rose by more than 900 workers (3%) since the 2020 aerospace report, from 31,311 in 2020 to 32,229 in 2025.
3 For more detailed descriptions, see: https://www.tinker.af.mil/ and https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/afn/offices/mmac 4 The reported workforce at the FAA Center consists of 3,318 appropriated fund federal civilian employees and 1,784 contract workers and employees at tenant organizations. An unknown share of the personnel reported as working at Tenant Organizations are private sector employees and not federal government employees. As a result, some duplication of the employee count among private sector firms in Figure 2 is possible.
Greater OKC Region Aerospace and Aviation - 2025
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