On March 28, Gov. Laura Kelly issued a statewide stay-at-home order for Kansas effective March 30-April 19. The order, following similar ones for Sedgwick County and the Kansas City metro area, directs residents to stay home unless performing essential activities or working for essential businesses. 

The Center for Economic Development and Business Research (CEDBR), part of the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State, has identified the essential and non-essential industries in the state of Kansas.

Using Kansas Department of Revenue data on taxable retail sales by industry sector, CEDBR estimates that 73.3% of Kansas retail sales came from essential industries in 2019, while the remaining 26.7% of sales occurred in non-essential industries. 

2019 retail sales for essential industries in Kansas topped $32 billion. The largest of these industries were the general merchandise stores sector and the food services and drinking places sector, which collectively accounted for more than $10 billion in sales. This was more than 25% of all taxable retail sales in the state. 

Eight other essential industries had more than $1 billion in taxable retail sales in 2019. 

Non-essential industries only amounted to $11.6 billion in retail sales for 2019. The largest non-essential industry sector was motor vehicle dealers, with more than $5.8 billion in sales. The clothing store sector and the furniture and home furnishings sector were the only other non-essential sectors to have more than $1 billion in sales. 

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