Compare military bases / Military bases by state

Military bases by state

Military bases by state: personnel and installations in all 50 states

How many active-duty, Guard and reserve members and DoD civilians each state hosts, by branch, from the Defense Manpower Data Center, plus the major installations in our base comparison directory.

Data vintage: DMDC personnel by location as of August 31, 2026, compared with September 30, 2025; base list reviewed 2026-09-23. Last checked 2026-10-27 by The CompareTheData team.

Data: DMDC. Jump to sources · Methodology

Key takeaways

California has the most active-duty personnel (166,510), followed by Virginia (128,484) and Texas (118,314).
The top five states hold 49% of the 1,175,016 active-duty members stationed in the 50 states and D.C. (August 31, 2026).
Relative to population, Hawaii (34.1 per 1,000 residents), Alaska and D.C. have the highest concentration.
Since September 30, 2025, the stateside active-duty count changed by +18,847; Virginia gained the most (+5,508) and Georgia lost the most (−2,037).

States with the most bases in our directory

12 basesCalifornia

166,510 active duty

7 basesVirginia

128,484 active duty

8 basesTexas

118,314 active duty

4 basesNorth Carolina

96,003 active duty

67,511 active duty

64,448 active duty

55,745 active duty

48,755 active duty

5 basesSouth Carolina

39,128 active duty

36,091 active duty

30,896 active duty

21,541 active duty

20,644 active duty

18,833 active duty

16,573 active duty

13,801 active duty

9,172 active duty

Active-duty military by state

Active-duty members by state, top 15, August 31, 2026

Click a column heading to sort. Download (CSV).

Active-duty military by state
Rank	State	Active duty	Army	Navy	Marines	Air Force	Space Force	Coast Guard	Guard and reserve	DoD civilians	Active-duty change since Sept. 2025	Bases in our directory
1	California	166,510	7,523	79,005	57,100	16,346	1,466	5,070	54,596	57,016	+2,945	Beale Air Force Base, Camp Pendleton, Edwards Air Force Base, Fort Irwin, MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, MCAS Miramar, MCRD San Diego, NAS Lemoore, Naval Base San Diego, Naval Base Ventura County, Travis Air Force Base, Vandenberg Space Force Base
2	Virginia	128,484	19,659	80,677	9,797	12,648	1,093	4,610	26,317	90,134	+5,508	Fort Belvoir, Fort Lee, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, MCB Quantico, NAS Oceana, Naval Station Norfolk
3	Texas	118,314	69,802	6,905	2,429	37,053	241	1,884	54,738	42,734	+4,744	Dyess Air Force Base, Fort Bliss, Fort Hood, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio, Laughlin Air Force Base, NAS Corpus Christi, Sheppard Air Force Base
4	North Carolina	96,003	42,139	4,631	41,066	6,448	4	1,715	20,032	20,473	+455	Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg, MCAS Cherry Point, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
5	Florida	67,511	5,090	31,149	3,284	22,630	524	4,834	38,683	30,619	+437	Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, MacDill Air Force Base, NAS Jacksonville, NAS Key West, NAS Pensacola, Naval Station Mayport, Patrick Space Force Base, Tyndall Air Force Base
6	Georgia	64,448	48,145	5,942	1,223	8,611	9	518	27,303	31,175	−2,037	Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, Fort Stewart, Moody Air Force Base, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Robins Air Force Base
7	Washington	55,745	24,515	21,939	715	6,740	2	1,834	16,390	30,148	−1,611	Fairchild Air Force Base, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, NAS Whidbey Island, Naval Base Kitsap, Naval Station Everett
8	Hawaii	48,755	21,444	13,032	7,200	5,291	220	1,568	9,578	19,199	+3,227	Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, MCB Hawaii, Schofield Barracks
9	South Carolina	39,128	10,208	8,183	10,515	8,896	4	1,322	17,772	9,631	+692	Fort Jackson, Joint Base Charleston, MCAS Beaufort, MCRD Parris Island, Shaw Air Force Base
10	Colorado	36,091	23,670	910	298	6,411	4,758	44	12,669	10,437	+896	Buckley Space Force Base, Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base
11	Maryland	30,896	8,076	10,238	2,425	8,758	370	1,029	18,252	42,087	+922	Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Detrick, Fort Meade, Joint Base Andrews, NAS Patuxent River
12	Kentucky	28,227	27,747	6	98	217	0	159	11,528	7,972	−2,002	Fort Campbell, Fort Knox
13	Illinois	25,503	989	19,797	369	4,229	3	116	22,310	11,836	−388	Naval Station Great Lakes, Scott Air Force Base
14	Oklahoma	21,541	13,367	1,696	448	5,999	7	24	13,206	23,783	+662	Altus Air Force Base, Fort Sill, Tinker Air Force Base
15	Alaska	20,963	10,403	38	13	8,565	27	1,917	4,311	4,439	+387	Fort Wainwright, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
16	Kansas	20,644	17,450	37	77	2,993	7	80	9,955	5,847	+821	Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, McConnell Air Force Base
17	New York	18,833	15,310	1,493	471	435	5	1,119	29,372	9,898	+686	Fort Drum, Fort Hamilton, USMA West Point
18	Arizona	16,573	4,012	427	3,332	8,775	16	11	14,225	7,675	+490	Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Fort Huachuca, Luke Air Force Base, MCAS Yuma
19	Missouri	14,641	8,751	352	1,042	4,288	1	207	16,689	6,551	−114	Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman Air Force Base
20	Louisiana	14,084	6,496	406	799	5,157	0	1,226	16,202	5,651	+207	Barksdale Air Force Base, Fort Polk
21	New Mexico	13,801	381	49	132	13,047	187	5	4,111	5,700	+194	Cannon Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base, Kirtland Air Force Base
22	Mississippi	12,091	393	5,076	271	6,023	59	269	14,015	8,707	−208	Columbus Air Force Base, Keesler Air Force Base
23	District of Columbia	11,787	1,930	2,577	2,332	2,377	247	2,324	3,631	11,535	+276	Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling
24	Nevada	11,735	166	1,060	27	10,428	45	9	7,678	2,770	−103	NAS Fallon, Nellis Air Force Base
25	Alabama	9,172	4,655	59	176	3,192	70	1,020	18,660	20,776	+47	Fort Rucker, Maxwell Air Force Base, Redstone Arsenal
26	New Jersey	8,172	705	380	418	4,758	0	1,911	16,746	9,624	+106	Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
27	North Dakota	7,423	33	6	7	7,334	43	0	4,438	1,532	+160	Grand Forks Air Force Base, Minot Air Force Base
28	Ohio	7,100	473	307	282	5,318	324	396	24,810	25,316	+93	Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
29	Nebraska	6,447	174	355	52	5,846	15	5	5,824	3,700	+88	Offutt Air Force Base
30	Connecticut	6,335	105	5,444	20	35	0	731	6,672	2,355	−246	Naval Submarine Base New London
31	Utah	4,537	169	28	129	4,203	1	7	11,977	15,210	+58	Hill Air Force Base
32	Rhode Island	4,267	122	3,345	189	71	6	534	4,312	4,693	+145	Naval Station Newport
33	Arkansas	3,849	117	6	55	3,653	0	18	10,876	3,245	+210	Little Rock Air Force Base
34	Massachusetts	3,761	354	407	278	1,154	83	1,485	14,349	5,752	+132	Hanscom Air Force Base
35	South Dakota	3,644	43	2	0	3,597	0	2	4,477	1,241	+323	Ellsworth Air Force Base
36	Idaho	3,530	87	38	24	3,374	1	6	5,123	1,535	+56	Mountain Home Air Force Base
37	Delaware	3,499	48	13	15	3,385	0	38	4,827	1,338	+81	Dover Air Force Base
38	Montana	3,490	50	5	10	3,407	18	0	3,830	1,281	+51	Malmstrom Air Force Base
39	Wyoming	3,293	27	0	0	3,264	2	0	2,878	1,042	+121	FE Warren Air Force Base
40	Tennessee	2,620	474	1,630	174	182	0	160	18,211	6,278	+31	—
41	Pennsylvania	2,532	962	708	276	229	6	351	25,337	23,349	+19	Carlisle Barracks
42	Michigan	2,093	403	242	161	100	1	1,186	13,686	8,622	+36	—
43	Oregon	1,649	144	252	136	90	0	1,027	8,217	2,499	+151	—
44	New Hampshire	1,262	61	934	26	191	4	46	3,800	978	+3	—
45	Indiana	1,074	642	111	170	106	13	32	15,908	10,502	−15	—
46	Wisconsin	998	424	30	114	115	0	315	12,919	2,378	−24	Fort McCoy
47	Maine	742	63	131	14	14	0	520	3,181	8,942	+76	—
48	Minnesota	667	159	178	136	50	0	144	17,359	2,343	+25	—
49	West Virginia	207	53	4	7	18	0	125	6,998	1,771	+27	—
50	Iowa	201	90	18	21	34	0	38	10,854	1,458	−2	—
51	Vermont	144	38	7	7	52	1	39	2,804	490	+9	—

How to read these numbers

DMDC assigns members to the state of their duty station; people deployed or in training may be counted at home station.
Our base directory covers 119 major installations used for PCS comparisons. It is not a complete DoD inventory, which includes hundreds of smaller sites.
Changes since September 30, 2025 compare two monthly snapshots and can reflect unit moves or reporting changes.

Common questions

Which state has the most military bases?

In our directory of 119 major installations, California has the most (12), then Florida (9) and Texas (8). Official DoD inventories count many more sites, including small facilities.

Which state has the most active-duty military?

California, with 166,510 active-duty members in DMDC's August 31, 2026 report.

Which states have no base in this directory?

Every state hosts some military presence, at least National Guard and reserve units. States with no installation in our directory: Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia.

How many military members are stationed in the U.S.?

1,175,016 active-duty members across the 50 states and D.C., plus 742,636 Guard and reserve members and 664,267 DoD civilians (DMDC, August 31, 2026).

Sources

DMDC, Military and Civilian Personnel by Service and Location (by state), August 2026 and September 2025. as of August 31, 2026; prior September 30, 2025.
Base list: CompareTheData military base directory, with each base's official site linked from its page.