By Trish Svoboda

McConnell Air Force Base contributed an estimated $1 billion to the local Wichita and broader Kansas community’s economy in the 2023 fiscal year. According to a news release, the base attributed this impact to nearly 10,000 jobs, both direct and indirect, supporting McConnell’s global mobility mission, including air refueling.

Military and civilian salaries totaled approximately $517 million, contributing to an indirect economic impact of $463 million from wages supporting McConnell’s workforce. This includes jobs in areas like restaurants and retail in the Wichita area.

McConnell Air Force Base employed approximately 4,800 military personnel, including airmen from the active-duty 22nd Air Refueling Wing, reservists from the 931st Air Refueling Wing, and Air National Guard members from the 184th Wing.

The base employed over 1,000 civilians, including general schedule, federal wage board, and other types of civilian personnel. This figure also includes non-appropriated civilian employees, such as those paid with appropriated funds from organizations like the Army and Air Force Exchange Services and Defense Commissary Agency.

McConnell Air Force Base allocated $12.1 million for on-base expenditures, including approximately $9 million designated for repairs to the Child Development Center.