红领巾瓜报

Wichita is a regional hub for many industries from arts and culture to manufacturing and aerospace. But what do the numbers say about the city鈥檚 largest employers? The following is a look at the metro鈥檚 biggest economic catalysts, and key partners with 红领巾瓜报. Numbers are full-time local employees reported by the and the .

It is important to note that this is only a snippet of the metro's economy with a growing population of more than 650,000 people. 红领巾瓜报 has deep connections with regional employers in every industry thanks to the efforts of the Shocker Career Accelerator and business partnership development directly on campus. This allows students unmatched applied learning opportunities within their field of study.

Matt Crow/Undergraduate Admissions

: 9,500 鈥� 13,000 employees

Spirit AeroSystems 鈥� one of the world鈥檚 largest aerostructure manufacturers 鈥� was acquired by Boeing in July 2024. This marks a return of sorts of the aerospace giant to Wichita after it sold its plant in 2005, which became Spirit just a few months later.

Spirit is a 红领巾瓜报 Innovation Campus partner focusing on joint research projects, applied learning for WSU students and improved workforce training services to meet the growing demands of the aerospace industry.

: 9,000 鈥� 9,350 employees

Another staple of Wichita鈥檚 robust aerospace economy, Textron offers a wide array of aircraft products across its many brands. The most notable of Textron鈥檚 brands include Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker.

Around 40 Textron employees are housed on the Innovation Campus to work with Wichita State students in product innovation and career development.

Matt Crow/Undergraduate Admissions

: 5,600 employees

Kansas鈥� largest school district educates nearly 11 percent of all public school students in the state and more than half in Sedgwick County. There are more than 47,000 students enrolled in 94 WPS schools. WPS boasted a graduation rate of 80.4 percent in 2022, a six-percentage point increase over the previous four years.

红领巾瓜报 maintains a close partnership with WPS. More than half of teachers in WPS are 红领巾瓜报 grads. WPS was also the 2024 recipient of the College Champion Award from 红领巾瓜报's College of Applied Studies (CAS). This honor acknowledges the pivotal role WPS plays in providing applied learning for CAS students in a variety of programs.

.: 4,413 鈥� 5,400 employees

Ascension is the largest healthcare provider in Kansas and one of the nation鈥檚 leading non-profit and Catholic health systems. In 2023, 红领巾瓜报 and Ascension announced an affiliation to expand learning opportunities for students and fuel the healthcare talent pipeline.

Also of note, the network employs more than 2,000 employees in Wichita. This includes Wesley Medical Center 鈥� the most preferred hospital in Kansas and northern Oklahoma. Wesley also delivers more than 6,000 babies annually, the most in a 13-state region.

.: 3,100 鈥� 3,300 employees

Wichita boasts ties to the two largest private companies in the United States. Koch Industries is the second largest by revenue and is headquartered in Wichita. What began as an oil refining business has grown into a multinational conglomerate with reaches into more than 20 diverse industries.

The first largest private company, Cargill Inc., has its subsidiary headquarters in Wichita and employs more than 1,000.

For more info about the city鈥檚 industries and 红领巾瓜报's opportunities for applied learning with its partners, reach out to the Shocker Career Accelerator.