Eight additional states (including Oklahoma) comprise a second tier, with each having between 50,000 and 100,000 combined private and public sector aerospace personnel. The group includes Georgia (102,028), Arizona (74,402), Ohio (68,725), New York (67,121), Illinois (65,696), Colorado (57,740), Virginia (51,874), and Oklahoma (51,648). Three additional states have more than 40,000 private and public sector aerospace workers – Utah (45,270), North Carolina (45,215), and Kansas (41,355). New Mexico enjoys the largest improvement in rank – from 41st to 29th – when public sector workers are included in aerospace employment. The improvement in both New Mexico and Oklahoma is traced primarily to large Air Force installations. Both states are home to major Air Force bases employing large numbers of federal civilian workers. Utah and Virginia also have a large Air Force presence and similarly advance in the rankings when public sector employment is considered. When public sector jobs are considered, Virginia moves up from 18th to 11th and Utah advances from 19th to 13th, also states with a large Air Force presence. Conversely, when public sector aerospace jobs are included, Connecticut drops from 13th to 21st, Pennsylvania drops from 14th to 17th, and Michigan drops from 15th to 22nd. These traditional leading aerospace states have substantial private sector aerospace employment but are home to relatively few public sector aerospace jobs. Several traditional leading aerospace states, including North Carolina, Kansas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Missouri, Connecticut, and Michigan, are frequently ranked well ahead of Oklahoma based only on private sector employment but trail far behind when evaluated using combined public and private sector employment. In short, the inclusion of public sector employment significantly reshapes the landscape of aerospace industry rankings across states. Oklahoma’s jump from 21st to 12th nationally underscores the outsized role of federal installations – primarily Tinker AFB, the FAA Center, and Oklahoma Air National Guard – in the state’s aerospace workforce. Similar upward shifts are observed in other states with major military or federal aerospace facilities, such as New Mexico, Utah, and Virginia. In contrast, traditional aerospace centers like Connecticut, Michigan, and Pennsylvania decline in the rankings when public sector jobs are included, reflecting their heavier reliance on private sector activity. These shifts highlight the importance of accounting for both public and private employment to fully capture the scope and scale of aerospace activity in each state. For policymakers and industry leaders, the combined measure offers a more comprehensive view of each state’s strategic position within the national aerospace economy.
Greater OKC Region Aerospace and Aviation - 2025
57
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online