Wichita Regional Market
Wichita, historically the "Air Capital of the World," does not currently appear in the North American Top-400 Regional Markets list. Its nearest major metros are far beyond the 80 km outer edge of the suburban-regional band the screening applies.
Overview
According to Wikipedia (accessed 2026-07-10), Wichita had 397,532 residents at the 2020 census across 166.52 square miles, Kansas's largest city and the 52nd largest in the United States. It sits approximately 157 miles north of Oklahoma City and 181 miles southwest of Kansas City, Missouri. Aircraft manufacturing dominates the economy — the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce dubbed the city the "Air Capital of the World" in 1929 — with healthcare the second-largest sector. Other major employers include Koch, Inc., Cargill, and aerospace suppliers Spirit AeroSystems and Textron Aviation. The cost of living remains below the national average. Downtown revitalization accelerated in the late 1990s and 2000s, including the 2010 opening of Intrust Bank Arena and ongoing restoration of the historic Old Town warehouse district.
Regional Market Standing
Wichita does not currently appear in the [[atlas-top-400-north-america|Top 400 Regional Markets — North America]] list. This is not a data defect; its distance from Oklahoma City and Kansas City places it well outside the co-location screening system's 15–80 km suburban-regional band, classifying it as standalone-secondary. This is consistent with the 2026-07-04 operator decision that a Wichita Development Region profile outside the Top-400 list is an expected, acceptable pattern.
See Also
References
- Wichita, Kansas — Wikipedia, accessed 2026-07-10
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