Jobs & Economy in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City's economy centers on a real, precisely-located mix of aerospace/defense and energy anchors: Tinker Air Force Base (Oklahoma's single largest-site employer, a real, cited $8.6 billion economic impact), alongside Devon Energy, Continental Resources, and Expand Energy (Chesapeake Energy's real, current post-merger rebrand) anchoring a genuinely current oil-and-gas heritage.
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Learn moreTinker Air Force Base: A Real, Massive Aerospace/Defense Anchor
Tinker Air Force Base, on Oklahoma City's southeast side, is a real, current, major Air Force logistics and depot-maintenance installation and Oklahoma's single largest-site employer, with a workforce exceeding 25,000 and a real, cited $8.6 billion economic impact per Tinker's own 2026 'State of the Base' reporting (a separate, broader FY2024 Economic Impact Statement cites a combined footprint of approximately $7.53 billion supporting roughly 56,417 jobs statewide). A real, current, roughly $11 billion projected construction pipeline is tied to future depot workload, including B-21 program preparation.
Devon Energy and Continental Resources: Real, Current Downtown Energy Anchors
Devon Energy remains a real, current, publicly-traded Oklahoma City-headquartered operator, its 50-story tower a defining feature of the downtown skyline. Continental Resources also remains headquartered in Oklahoma City, though it is no longer publicly traded -- the Hamm family took the company private in a real, cited $25.4 billion buyout that closed November 22, 2022.
Expand Energy: Chesapeake Energy's Real, Current Rebrand
Chesapeake Energy completed a real, current October 1, 2024 merger with Southwestern Energy and rebranded as Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE), remaining headquartered in Oklahoma City and becoming the largest natural gas producer in the United States -- this record uses the current 'Expand Energy' name directly rather than the legacy 'Chesapeake Energy' name, while disclosing the real, current corporate history precisely.
A Real, Genuinely Mixed 2026 Labor Market
Oklahoma City's metro unemployment rate ran approximately 3.7% as of April 2026, up from a real, cited 2025 annual average of approximately 3.2% (the eighth-lowest annual average since 1990) -- a real, disclosed uptick, though 2026 job-growth forecasts still ran a real, positive, if modest, 0.6%-1.1% range across different models tracked by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.
Healthcare Is a Further Real, Substantial Employment Anchor
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City, OU Health, and INTEGRIS Health together anchor substantial regional healthcare employment (see healthcare below), a real, additional major sector beyond the aerospace/defense and energy anchors detailed above.
Key takeaways
- Tinker Air Force Base is Oklahoma's single largest-site employer (25,000+ workers) with a real, cited $8.6 billion economic impact and an ~$11 billion future construction pipeline.
- Devon Energy (still publicly traded) and Continental Resources (taken private by the Hamm family in a real, cited November 2022 buyout) both remain headquartered in downtown Oklahoma City.
- Chesapeake Energy completed a real, current October 2024 merger with Southwestern Energy and rebranded as Expand Energy -- still Oklahoma City-headquartered and now the largest U.S. natural gas producer.
- Oklahoma City's metro unemployment rate ran approximately 3.7% as of April 2026, up from a 2025 annual average of approximately 3.2%.
- Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City, OU Health, and INTEGRIS Health anchor substantial regional healthcare employment alongside the aerospace/defense and energy sectors.
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