Geography of Kansas - Economy

Economy

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the total GDP in 2008 was $122.7 billion, making it the United States's 32nd highest state by GDP. Per capita personal income in 2008 was $35,013. As of January 2010, the state's unemployment rate is 6.4%.

The agricultural outputs of the state are cattle, sheep, wheat, sorghum, soybeans, cotton, hogs, corn, and salt. Eastern Kansas is part of the Grain Belt, an area of major grain production in the central United States. The industrial outputs are transportation equipment, commercial and private aircraft, food processing, publishing, chemical products, machinery, apparel, petroleum and mining.

Largest Employers (as of 2007)
Rank Business Employees Location Industry
No. 1 Sprint Nextel 12,000 Overland Park Telecommunications
No. 2 Cessna 11,300 Wichita Aviation
No. 3 Spirit AeroSystems 10,900 Wichita Aviation
No. 4 Hawker Beechcraft 6,767 Wichita Aviation
No. 5 Embarq 3,800 Overland Park Telecommunications
No. 6 Black & Veatch 3,800 Overland Park Engineering
No. 7 Boeing 3,005 Wichita Aviation
No. 8 Farmers Insurance 3,000 Olathe Insurance
No. 9 YRC Worldwide 2,600 Overland Park Trucking
No. 10 Garmin 2,500 Olathe GPS Technology
No. 11 Learjet 2,250 Wichita Aviation
No. 12 Koch Industries 2,000 Wichita Chemicals/Materials
No. 13 Schwan Food Company 2,000 Salina Food
No. 14 Collective Brands 1,700 Topeka Apparel
No. 15 Blue Cross and Blue Shield 1,603 Topeka Insurance

Kansas ranks 8th in U.S. oil production. Production has experienced a steady, natural decline as it becomes increasingly difficult to extract oil over time. Since oil prices bottomed in 1999, oil production in Kansas has remained fairly constant, with an average monthly rate of about 2.8 million barrels (450,000 m3) in 2004. The recent higher prices have made carbon dioxide sequestration and other oil recovery techniques more economical.

Kansas ranks 8th in U.S. natural gas production. Production has steadily declined since the mid-1990s with the gradual depletion of the Hugoton Natural Gas Field—the state's largest field which extends into Oklahoma and Texas. In 2004, slower declines in the Hugoton gas fields and increased coalbed methane production contributed to a smaller overall decline. Average monthly production was over 32 billion cubic feet (0.9 km³).

The Kansas economy is also heavily influenced by the aerospace industry. Several large aircraft corporations have manufacturing facilities in Wichita and Kansas City, including Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing, Cessna, Learjet, and Hawker Beechcraft (formerly Raytheon).

Major company headquarters in Kansas include the Sprint Nextel Corporation (with world headquarters in Overland Park), Embarq (with national headquarters in Overland Park), YRC Worldwide (Overland Park), Garmin (Olathe), Payless Shoes (national headquarters and major distribution facilities in Topeka), and Koch Industries (with national headquarters in Wichita).

Read more about this topic:  Geography Of Kansas

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