Kansas
Kansas exhibits unexpected specialization: Wichita's aircraft cluster (Cessna, Beechcraft, Boeing) emerged on wheat-producing prairie through a century of accumulation.
Kansas built an unexpected manufacturing cluster in aircraft production, with Wichita once producing more aircraft than any city in the world. Cessna, Beechcraft, Learjet, and Boeing all established operations, creating a concentration of aerospace engineering talent in the middle of the prairie. The cluster emerged from Spirit of St. Louis-era pioneers and consolidated through decades of accumulation.
Agriculture remains the visible industry—Kansas wheat fields feed global markets—but aerospace and defense provide the high-value employment that supports Wichita's economy. The industry has contracted from peak employment as business aviation demand fluctuated and some production moved elsewhere, yet the cluster persists through specialized workforce, supplier networks, and institutional knowledge that cannot be easily replicated.
Kansas City (straddling the Missouri border) anchors the eastern economy with logistics, telecommunications (Sprint's legacy), and animal health (Zoetis and others). The state's flatness and central location made it a natural railroad hub, advantages that persist in trucking and distribution. Kansas faces the challenge common to Great Plains states: holding population against coastal and Sun Belt draws while maintaining the agricultural productivity that defines its landscape and culture.