Kansas GDP growth tops in nation for third quarter of 2023, report shows

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Kansas’ economic status in recent months, ascended to the top of the nation when it comes to market value of goods and services. That’s according to a third-quarter report released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Specifically, Kansas’ real gross domestic product (GDP) outpaced all 50 states and the District of Columbia from July to September, expanding by 9.7%.

Not long ago, economists were predicting an eminent economic recession. For Kansas, it’s a different story.

“There’s a lot of fundamental drivers to this economy,” said Jeremy Hill, Director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University.

One of those drivers brings us back to what many around the world know Kansas for: agriculture.

“The biggest driver to the overall input, the overall value of our economy growing has been one sector, and that’s agriculture,” Hill said. “Agriculture represents about 53% of that 9.7% growth.

When farmers do well, so do the rest of us, Hill summarized.

“We benefit as an entire state when agriculture does well, and so it’s been really driving our overall economy,” he said.

But agriculture doesn’t for all the growth.

“Our overall manufacturing is very robust, healthy and growing,” Hill said. “Some of this is the existing industries like aerospace, other machinery and food production that we do in the state. Then we have all these new industries that are coming in and we’ve had lots of investments over two, three years.”

Retail ranked third as the driving force behind Kansas’ economic growth. The Sunflower State also ranked third in personal income growth at 4.9% during the third quarter of 2023.

With Kansas’ economy in relatively strong shape, manufacturers are looking for well-trained employees. WSU Tech reports seeing record-breaking enrollment numbers.

“This past fall, we had record enrollment, the biggest enrollment in the history of the college,” said WSU Tech Vice President of Student Success Justin Pfeifer. “Every program that we offer and every graduate that walks out of here has in-demand, relevant skills that those businesses and industry are willing to pay for.”

That workforce demand is expanding.

“Aviation and advanced manufacturing is really at the heart of what we do in many of our areas, but we’re seeing influxes in other manufacturing areas such as welding, CNC machining; our information technology program is booming right now,” Pfeifer said.

Hill summarized the situation with an optimistic outlook.

“They may not feel all of it today, but the economy is expanding and we’re going to see more of that expansion and growth,” he said.

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