IV. Aerospace Employment & Occupation Profile
Greater OKC Region Aerospace Industry – 2025
The large, top-tier aerospace states of California, Texas, Washington, Georgia, and Florida continue to lead in number of employees in these categories as well as in most other aerospace-related occupations. These states tend to have both significant private aerospace manufacturing infrastructure and large-scale federal and military installations. Nevertheless, Oklahoma continues to rank highly in the number of employees in these four key aerospace occupations. The state currently ranks 14th among the states with 1,560 aerospace engineers. The number of aerospace engineers in a state is closely related to the level of research and development, manufacturing, and space-related activity taking place. The Greater Oklahoma City region has a reported 944 aerospace engineers in 2025, two- thirds of the state total, up from 647 in 2020. Oklahoma ranks 4th in employment of aircraft mechanics and service technicians with more than 8,000 workers, and 10th in avionics technicians with 420 workers. The higher rankings for Oklahoma on both occupations reflect the larger role they play in aircraft MRO activity, one of the state’s strengths. The Oklahoma City metro area is home to 2,650 aircraft Aerospace Employment Comparison . Figures 9 and 10 examine state-level differences in employment and wage rates for key aerospace occupations with varying skill requirements. The large, top-tier aerospace states of California, Texas, Washington, Georgia, and Florida continue to lead in number of employees in these categories as well as in most other aerospace-related occupations. These states tend to have both significant private aerospace manufacturing infrastructure and large-scale federal and military installations. Nevertheless, Oklahoma continues to rank highly in the number of employees in these four key aerospace occupations. The state currently ranks 14 th among the states with 1,560 aerospace engineers. The number of aerospace engineers in a state is closely related to the level of research and development, manufacturing, and space-related activity taking place. The Greater Oklahoma City region has a reported 944 aerospace engineers in 2025, two-thirds of the state total, up from 647 in 2020. Figure 9. Rankings of State Aerospace Industry Employment by Key Occupation (2024) IV. Aerospace Employment & Occupation Profile This section of the report provides an in-depth analysis of the current aerospace workforce in the Greater Oklahoma City region. The future growth of the aerospace industry hinges on the continuous development of a highly skilled workforce. Additionally, the region's wage costs, in comparison to competing aerospace markets, play a crucial role in its ability to attract future industry growth. This section includes comparative data on employment and average annual wage rates by detailed occupation, covering both private sector and federal civilian government workers in aerospace-related jobs.
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers (SOC 51-2011)
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (SOC 49-3011)
Aerospace Engineers (SOC 17-2011)
Avionics Technicians (SOC 49-2091)
Annual Wages
Annual Wages
Annual Wages
Annual Wages
State
Jobs
State
Jobs
State
Jobs
State
Jobs
1 California
9,330 $157,060 1 Kansas 7,660 130,320 2 Washington 5,700 159,790 3 Texas 5,570 136,210 4 Georgia 3,770 134,650 5 California 3,490 158,290 6 Florida 3,100 128,500 7 Pennsylvania 3,060 151,320 8 Alabama 2,820 143,050 9 N. Carolina 1,940 141,350 10 Arizona 1,900 118,870 11 Arkansas 1,770 143,930 12 Oregon 1,550 142,110 13 Missouri 1,550 113,010 14 Oklahoma 1,170 125,700 15 New York 1,000 128,730 16 Connecticut 990 148,270 17 Utah 840 116,350 18 Michigan 820 120,670 19 Idaho 790 120,900 20 Mississippi
10,470 $64,300 1 Texas 4,760 78,990 2 Florida 3,260 70,870 3 California 3,030 65,120 4 Oklahoma 1,720 59,640 5 Georgia 1,330 62,220 6 N. Carolina 1,140 76,720 7 Tennessee 780 63,980 8 Arizona 660 55,620 9 Alabama 640 66,270 10 Washington 580 47,780 11 Illinois 560 64,860 12 Kentucky
15,900 $80,430 1 Washington
5,480 2,190 1,770 1,740 1,440 1170
$95,510 78,760 78,690 73,890 91,110 82,060 92,240 65,860 84,590 64,490 59,490 71,910 57,220 79,520 82,560 94,920 63,540 62,410 36,050 68,860 $82,350
2 Texas
14,470 12,820
79,270 2 Florida 85,750 3 Texas 79,010 4 Georgia 84,060 5 California 75,440 6 Alabama 77,210 7 Connecticut 79,040 8 N. Carolina 77,020 9 Arizona 83,700 10 Oklahoma 85,860 11 Tennessee 78,900 12 Illinois 79,320 13 Michigan 99,290 14 Louisiana 73,750 15 Virginia 91,290 16 Maryland
3 Washington
4 Alabama
8,020 5,950 5,410 4,980 4,620 4,600 4,230 3,780 3,450 3,210 2,940 2,930 2,300 2,230 2,220 2,010
5 Ohio
6 Maryland 7 Florida 8 Georgia 9 Virginia
490 450 440 420 420 340 340 270 260 220 220 220 210 180
10 New Mexico
11 Kansas 12 Arizona
13 New Jersey 14 Oklahoma 15 Connecticut
380 63,700 13 Ohio
280 50,660 14 New York 260 46,930 15 Michigan 240 88,710 16 Nevada 240 57,730 17 Minnesota 210 59,810 18 Virginia 130 57,770 19 Utah 70 54,870 20 New Jersey
16 Utah
17 Massachusetts
90,950 17 Ohio 84,640 18 Utah
18 Missouri
19 Pennsylvania 20 Tennessee
71,660 19 Puerto Rico
1,950 109,380 20 Mississippi
U.S.
68,440 $141,180
U.S.
32,890 $66,510
U.S.
68,440 $141,180
U.S.
20,900
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)-Occupational Employment Statistics
Greater OKC Region Aerospace and Aviation - 2025
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