The evaluation of FAA employment in this section does not include the nearly 1,800 contract employees working at the FAA Center or similar contract workers at other FAA facilities in other states. When contract workers and long-term FAA students are included, the FAA Center in Oklahoma City ranks as the largest single-site concentration of FAA workers outside of the District of Columbia. Public and Private Sector Aerospace Employment The aerospace sector in many states, including Oklahoma, takes on a far different profile when both core private and public sector activities are considered. Figure 17 provides rankings of combined public and private sector aerospace employment across the states. The change in rankings is evident in Oklahoma where nearly 50,600 workers comprise the public and private sector aerospace workforce. Oklahoma rises from the 21st largest market when measured by private sector employment to 12th largest when public sector workers are added to the labor pool. The top tier of the combined market is dominated by the four largest traditional aerospace states of California (225,800), Texas (220,391), Florida (172,238), and Washington (120,714). Only Washington did not add a significant number of combined public and private aerospace workers since the 2020 aerospace report, dropping about 4,000 total workers. Of the four leading states, California, Texas, and Florida have very large numbers of both private and public sector aerospace employees. However, Washington’s high ranking is traced primarily to private sector employment, largely related to Boeing commercial jet production. Washington has the 4th highest number of private aerospace employees but only the 17th highest number of public sector personnel, roughly opposite the rankings of Oklahoma.
Greater OKC Region Aerospace and Aviation - 2025
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