Business and civic leaders recently gathered for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s State of the Region event, which offered a clear, data-focused look at where Central Oklahoma stands—and where it needs to improve. The event featured a regional economic overview presented by Chamber President and CEO Christy Gillenwater.
Oklahoma’s biotech sector took center stage when the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) brought its national Roadshow tour to Oklahoma City. This event, in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Life Sciences Oklahoma highlighted the dynamic and growing bioeconomy in the region.
Improving Oklahoma City’s air service is the goal of a new task force formed by the Chamber. Chaired by Burns Hargis, former chair of the Chamber and former president of Oklahoma State University, the task force is comprised of airport representatives, Airport Trust members, and business leaders interested in working together to provide valuable information to airlines as they consider expansion in the market.
Oklahoma City’s tourism economy reached record levels in 2024, according to a new report by the Tourism Economics group within Oxford Economics. The study found that 24.5 million visitors came to OKC last year, driving $2.8 billion in direct spending and fueling a total economic impact of $4.6 billion.
Visit OKC is the official destination marketing organization for the Greater OKC region, promoting the city as a top destination for conventions, sports and leisure travel. Through targeted sales and marketing, Visit OKC aims to raise the city’s national profile.
In this month’s Leadership Notes, Chamber President and CEO Christy Gillenwater emphasizes the importance of Oklahoma City’s visitor economy as a powerful catalyst for investment, talent attraction and long-term growth.
Oklahoma City continues to be one of the most affordable places to live in the country, according to new data from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). In the second quarter of 2025, OKC ranked first in affordability among all U.S. cities with a population over 500,000. Among all 245 urban areas surveyed, OKC had the sixth lowest cost of living overall.
The Oklahoma City metropolitan area posted a preliminary unemployment rate of 3.0% in July, improving from 3.2% in June. The metro has recorded unemployment below 4% for 48 consecutive months, the longest such stretch in its modern history.
