24/7 Wall St. Insights

• With just eight active-duty military personnel per 100,000 residents, Iowa has, by far, the fewest military personnel.
• Although active-duty military personnel levels vary, at least one military base is housed in each state.
• The top state on our list has 2,811 active-duty military personnel per 100,000 residents, dwarving many other states.
• Also: 2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever

The new 95th Wing of the U.S. Airforce will join the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, ideally before the end of 2024. Shared by the military and a handful of U.S. politicians, the news brings at least 70 new Air Force personnel to the state. Representative Don Bacon (R-NE 2nd District) believes that the base could play a role in nuclear capabilities and command, which he sees as crucial to national security. Offutt Air Force Base is one of eight military installations supporting national security in Nebraska. (Check out every rank in the U.S. Air Force and what they’re paid.)

Currently, the United States has between 450 and 500 active military bases across the nation, housing hundreds of thousands of military personnel. These personnel span the different branches of service: the Marine Corps, Space Force, Air Force, Navy, and Army. Each state has at least one military base to house and train military personnel. California has the most — understandable given its size — and New Hampshire has only one. Vermont has no military bases but makes up for it with its strong National Guard presence and other strategic defense facilities, which add to its level of protection. Virginia has the largest military base in the country, Norfolk Naval Base, with over 47,000 active-duty personnel in residence. (Here are the biggest military bases in America.)

24/7 Wall St. reviewed personnel data available from the Department of Defense Personnel, Workforce Reports & Publications, using their provided data from September 30, 2022, to determine the states that have the most active-duty military personnel. These numbers were then adjusted over 100,000 state population. Data for the number of military sites in each state came from the U.S. Department of Transportation/Bureau of Transportation Statistics National Transportation Atlas Database from their May 2019 report. Census Bureau’s Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for July 1, 2022, provide our state population data. These are the most up-to-date statistics at the time of publication.

Why Are We Writing About Military Service?

“We must never forget why we have, and why we need our military. Our armed forces exist solely to ensure our nation is safe, so that each and every one of us can sleep soundly at night, knowing we have ‘guardians at the gate.’” – Allen West

The military is essential to protecting our country. The Department of Defense is also the largest employer in the United States, with approximately 1.3 million active military service members and over 800,000 in reserves. Across the United States and worldwide, personnel are stationed and performing their duty for the country, for themselves, and their families.

Here are the U.S. States with the highest number of active-duty military personnel:

51. Iowa

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $805 (12th lowest nationwide)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel: 246 (8 per 100,000 residents)
• Military Sites: 5 (tied for 10th fewest)

50. West Virginia

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $496 (5th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 177 (10 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 8 (tied for 19th fewest)

49. Minnesota

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $387 (3rd lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 580 (10 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 3

48. Indiana

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,059 (21st lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 1,043 (15 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 11

47. Wisconsin

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $857 (17th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel: 993 (17 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 4

46. Michigan

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $649 (8th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 1,900 (19 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 9

45. Pennsylvania

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,272 (26th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 2,468 (19 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 8

44. Vermont

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $845 (16th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 141 (22 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 5

43. Tennessee

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $462 (4th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 2,378 (34 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 15

42. Oregon

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $324 (lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 1,514 (36 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 11

41. Massachusetts

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $3,057 (9th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 3,350 (48 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 6

40. Maine

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $2,348 (11th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 797 (58 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 7

39. Ohio

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $844 (15th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 6,846 (58 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 15

38. New Hampshire

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,671 (17th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 1,115 (80 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 4

37. New Jersey

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,002 (20th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 7,954 (86 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 7

36. New York

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,557 (20th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 19,364 (98 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 17

35. Arkansas

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $639 (7th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 3,740 (123 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 5

34. Utah

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,877 (16th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 4,503 (133 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 11

33. Alabama

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $3,123 (7th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 8,244 (162 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 8

32. Connecticut

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $5,347 (4th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 6,224 (172 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 5

31. Illinois

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $749 (10th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 22,679 (180 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 14

30. Idaho

29. Missouri

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,979 (14th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 14,409 (233 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 5

28. Arizona

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $2,013 (13th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 17,482 (238 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 19

27. Montana

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $586 (6th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 3,253 (290 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 5

26. Florida

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,384 (24th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 66,971 (301 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 41

25. Louisiana

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $768 (11th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 14,910 (325 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 14

24. Nebraska

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $844 (15th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 6,499 (330 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 8

23. Delaware

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $947 (18th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 3,490 (343 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 4

22. Rhode Island

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,533 (22nd highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 3,793 (347 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 5

21. South Dakota

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $718 (9th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 3,388 (372 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 7

20. Mississippi

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,911 (15th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 11,067 (376 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 12

19. Texas

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,601 (18th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 114,245 (380 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 42

18. Nevada

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $974 (19th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 12,275 (386 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 13

17. California

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,463 (23rd highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 1,463,393 (419 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 73

16. Maryland

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $4,258 (6th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 29,599 (480 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 25

15. Oklahoma

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,582 (19th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 21,114 (525 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 14

14. Wyoming

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $822 (13th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 3,148 (541 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 3

13. Georgia

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,378 (25th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 63,873 (585 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 20

12. New Mexico

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,547 (21st highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 13,437 (636 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 10

11. Colorado

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $2,138 (12th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 37,990 (651 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 10

10. Kansas

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,263 (25th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 20,566 (700 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 7

9. South Carolina

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,179 (24th lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 38,322 (725 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 14

8. Kentucky

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $3,068 (8th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 34,608 (767 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 6

7. Washington

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $2,470 (10th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 62,130 (798 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 20

6. North Carolina

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,113 (22nd lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 95,999 (897 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 16

5. North Dakota

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $1,165 (23rd lowest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 7,272 (933 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 7

4. Virginia

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $7,259 (2nd highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 129,492 (1,491 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 42

3. District Of Columbia

2. Alaska

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $4,916 (5th highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 20,206 (2,754 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 39

1. Hawaii

• 2021 Per Capita Defense Spending: $5,465 (3rd highest)
• Active-Duty Military Personnel (September 2022): 40,485 (2,811 per 100,000)
• Military Sites: 39

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