Wichita tops new ranking for aerospace and defense manufacturing in the U.S.

A new ranking lists Wichita as the top metro area for aerospace and defense manufacturing.

Global Location Strategies, a site selection firm based in South Carolina, lists Wichita as the top city in its 2026 list of best places for aerospace and defense manufacturing. Wichita beat out Ogden, Utah, and Dayton, Ohio, for the top spot.

The list, part of a 112-page report, was released Thursday morning. 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.

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.”

The report showed that weekly aerospace and defense job postings in the U.S. nearly doubled between January 2025 and May 2026, which, the firm said, reflected growing demand for engineers, technicians, skilled trades workers and security-cleared personnel.

Jeff Fluhr, president of the Greater Wichita Partnership, said city leaders and business officials are dedicated to keeping Wichita as a leading city for aerospace manufacturing.

“With more than 350-plus aerospace suppliers, the Wichita region has spent more than 110 years building this ecosystem we call the Air Capital of the World,” Fluhr said. “Our region and state’s presence at the International Air Show, for instance, continues to grow, and we will be making more announcements about growth in supply chains and new partnerships than in any previous year.”

About one-quarter of the industry’s workforce is age 55 or older, however, which could indicate a potential labor shortage in the coming years, the report said.

The following are the 10-top metro areas for aerospace and defense manufacturing, according to the report.

1. Wichita
2. Ogden, Utah
3. Dayton, Ohio
4. Salt Lake City, Utah
5. Huntsville, Alabama
6. Palm Bay-Melbourne, Florida
7. Grand Rapids, Michigan
8. Phoenix
9. Dallas-Fort Worth
10. Indianapolis