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Study: Lee's Summit Regional Airport supports about $58 million in statewide economic activity
Summary
A consultant‑driven economic impact study presented to council estimates the Kansas City Lee's Summit Regional Airport generates roughly $58.3 million in statewide economic output (including recent Hangar 2 additions) and supports more than 250 jobs when direct, indirect and induced impacts are counted.
City staff and consultants presented an economic impact study estimating that the Kansas City Lee's Summit Regional Airport supports about $58.3 million in statewide economic output and roughly 252 jobs when direct on‑field operations, visitor spending and multiplier effects are combined.
The study used a mix of sources: MoDOT's 2012 general aviation multipliers (updated to 2024), IMPLAN county‑level multipliers and phone‑location (Placer) data to estimate where visitors stayed, ate and shopped. Presenter Joseph Anderson (consultant) said two recent projects — Hangar 2 and east‑side infrastructure improvements — added about $10.6 million in annual output and roughly 46 jobs to the airport's economic footprint.
Key findings summarized by staff: statewide impacts of airport business and visitor spending amount to about $58.3 million in total economic output and approximately $11.9 million in payroll; locally focused visitor spending is estimated at about $5.3 million annually and supports roughly 41 local jobs. The airport recorded about 56,000 flight operations in 2024 with preliminary 2025 traffic already pushing toward 65,000 operations.
Council members praised the analysis as a helpful tool for evaluating airport investments and for arguing for public‑private partnerships and infrastructure. City staff said the study will be used in ongoing economic development outreach and to support future capital projects such as hangars and potential control‑tower discussion.
Next steps: staff plans to refine the analysis to better quantify which private employers located in the city can be directly attributed to airport access and to use the findings when evaluating future airport infrastructure investments, RFPs and incentive options.
