Military

The impact of the military on every state economy

Written by:
Ben Wittstein
August 14, 2018
Johnny Silvercloud // Shutterstock

The impact of the military on every state economy

Of the $1.11 trillion set aside by Congress for discretionary spending in 2015, 54 percent was reserved for the military. This left less than half of available funds to cover Medicare, education, housing, agriculture and other essential areas. While this speaks to the inseparable nature of the military and the economy at the national level, the relationship is more variant at the state level. National defense has proven to be more of a pressing issue for certain regions than others.

Using 2015 Department of Defense data via the National Conference of State Legislatures, Stacker listed the states where DoD spending represents the greatest percentage of state gross domestic product. The 50 states and the District of Columbia are each listed along with their total DoD spending, as well as the total number of DoD personnel in the state.

Read on to see how heavily the military impacts your state's economy.

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#51. Oregon

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.6%
Total DoD spending: $1.3 billion
Total DoD personnel: 13,356

#50. New York

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.6%
Total DoD spending: $9.1 billion
Total DoD personnel: 61,765

#49. Michigan

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.6%
Total DoD spending: $2.9 billion
Total DoD personnel: 25,689

#48. West Virginia

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.7%
Total DoD spending: $527 million
Total DoD personnel: 10,204

#47. Wisconsin

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.8%
Total DoD spending: $2.3 billion
Total DoD personnel: 18,035

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#46. Tennessee

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.8%
Total DoD spending: $2.4 billion
Total DoD personnel: 71,441

#45. Iowa

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.8%
Total DoD spending: $1.4 billion
Total DoD personnel: 12,969

#44. Wyoming

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.9%
Total DoD spending: $370 million
Total DoD personnel: 7,171

#43. Illinois

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 0.9%
Total DoD spending: $7.0 billion
Total DoD personnel: 57,078

#42. Vermont

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.0%
Total DoD spending: $295.5 million
Total DoD personnel: 4,931

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#41. South Dakota

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.0%
Total DoD spending: $456.8 million
Total DoD personnel: 9,257

#40. Idaho

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.0%
Total DoD spending: $643.3 million
Total DoD personnel: 10,436

#39. Delaware

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.0%
Total DoD spending: $676.8 million
Total DoD personnel: 9,959

#38. Montana

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.1%
Total DoD spending: $519 million
Total DoD personnel: 9,185

#37. Ohio

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.2%
Total DoD spending: $6.9 billion
Total DoD personnel: 60,224

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#36. New Jersey

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.2%
Total DoD spending: $6.6 billion
Total DoD personnel: 33,834

#35. Indiana

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.2%
Total DoD spending: $3.9 billion
Total DoD personnel: 31,376

#34. Arkansas

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.2%
Total DoD spending: $1.4 billion
Total DoD personnel: 20,229

#33. Nebraska

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.3%
Total DoD spending: $1.5 billion
Total DoD personnel: 16,776

#32. Minnesota

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.3%
Total DoD spending: $4.3 billion
Total DoD personnel: 21,823

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#31. North Dakota

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.4%
Total DoD spending: $747.2 million
Total DoD personnel: 13,296

#30. Louisiana

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.5%
Total DoD spending: $3.8 billion
Total DoD personnel: 41,250

#29. Nevada

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.6%
Total DoD spending: $2.3 billion
Total DoD personnel: 20,683

#28. Pennsylvania

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 1.9%
Total DoD spending: $12.7 billion
Total DoD personnel: 57,919

#27. North Carolina

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.0%
Total DoD spending: $9.8 billion
Total DoD personnel: 144,881

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#26. New Hampshire

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.0%
Total DoD spending: $1.4 billion
Total DoD personnel: 6,350

#25. Florida

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.0%
Total DoD spending: $17.6 billion
Total DoD personnel: 126,292

#24. California

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.1%
Total DoD spending: $49.3 billion
Total DoD personnel: 269,540

#23. Utah

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.2%
Total DoD spending: $3.2 billion
Total DoD personnel: 30,486

#22. Texas

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.3%
Total DoD spending: $37.9 billion
Total DoD personnel: 218,523

#21. Kansas

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.3%
Total DoD spending: $3.3 billion
Total DoD personnel: 41,152

#20. Oklahoma

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.6%
Total DoD spending: $4.7 billion
Total DoD personnel: 57,080

#19. Massachusetts

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.6%
Total DoD spending: $12.2 billion
Total DoD personnel: 24,174

#18. Georgia

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.6%
Total DoD spending: $12.6 billion
Total DoD personnel: 129,463

#17. South Carolina

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.7%
Total DoD spending: $5.3 billion
Total DoD personnel: 65,632

#16. Colorado

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.8%
Total DoD spending: $8.7 billion
Total DoD personnel: 61,294

#15. Washington

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 2.9%
Total DoD spending: $12.6 billion
Total DoD personnel: 107,341

#14. New Mexico

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 3.4%
Total DoD spending: $3.1 billion
Total DoD personnel: 23,539

#13. Arizona

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 3.4%
Total DoD spending: $10.0 billion
Total DoD personnel: 42,547

#12. Rhode Island

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 3.5%
Total DoD spending: $2.0 billion
Total DoD personnel: 12,216

#11. Missouri

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 3.7%
Total DoD spending: $10.6 billion
Total DoD personnel: 43,020

#10. Connecticut

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 3.8%
Total DoD spending: $9.7 billion
Total DoD personnel: 15,414

#9. Maine

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 4.7%
Total DoD spending: $2.6 billion
Total DoD personnel: 11,794

#8. Kentucky

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 4.7%
Total DoD spending: $9.0 billion
Total DoD personnel: 57,080

#7. Mississippi

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 4.9%
Total DoD spending: $5.2 billion
Total DoD personnel: 37,006

#6. Maryland

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 5.7%
Total DoD spending: $20.5 billion
Total DoD personnel: 93,183

#5. District of Columbia

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 5.7%
Total DoD spending: $6.8 billion
Total DoD personnel: 25,550

#4. Alabama

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 5.9%
Total DoD spending: $12.2 billion
Total DoD personnel: 52,116

#3. Alaska

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 6.1%
Total DoD spending: $3.3 billion
Total DoD personnel: 27,764

#2. Hawaii

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 9.8%
Total DoD spending: $7.8 billion
Total DoD personnel: 73,487

#1. Virginia

DoD spending as a percent of total state GDP: 11.2%
Total DoD spending: $53.0 billion
Total DoD personnel: 246,553

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