24/7 Wall St. Insights

• With more than 2.5 million people on payroll, the Department of Defense is the largest employer in the United States.
• The bulk of DOD employees are active-duty service members, who can be deployed to combat at any time.
• While these men and women are stationed across the country, the presence of several major bases in Colorado has made the state a critical hub for American military operations.
• Also: Discover the next Nvidia

With nearly 2.6 million people on payroll in 2022, the Department of Defense ranks as the single largest employer in the United States. For comparison, Walmart, the world’s largest private sector employer, has a global workforce of 2.1 million. While about 734,000 civilians are on the Pentagon’s payroll, most DOD employees are active-duty troops, reservists, and National Guardsmen.

Across all service branches in the U.S. military, there are over 1.1 million active-duty service members and an additional 743,000 reserve troops and Guardsmen. Although it falls under purview of the Department of Homeland Security, rather than the DOD, the U.S. Coast Guard employs another 57,000 Americans. The backbone of American military power, these men and women are stationed across the country — but in certain states, the presence of military personnel is far more pronounced than in others. (Here is a look at the number of active-duty service members in each state.)

While multiple branches of the military have installations in Colorado, the U.S. Space Force has an especially large footprint. Founded only five years ago, Space Force is the newest branch of the U.S. military, and with only 7,600 active-duty troops, it is also the smallest. Space Force is tasked with protecting American interests in outer space and supporting the operations of other service branches with space capabilities.

Currently, Colorado is home to more than 45% of all active-duty Space Force personnel. According to data from the DOD’s 2022 Demographics Profile, there are more than 3,500 active-duty members of the U.S. Space Force stationed in Colorado, by far the most of any state.

Colorado’s status as a hub for the U.S. Space Force is due in large part to the presence of several major installations. These include Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, as well as the Peterson and Schriever bases in and around Colorado Springs. (Here is a look at the newest U.S. military bases.)

This is the number of active-duty and reserve troops, from each branch of the U.S. military, stationed in Colorado.

Why It Matters

There are over 1.1 million active-duty troops and another 743,000 reservists and Guardsmen serving in the U.S. military. To maintain preparedness for a host of rising threats, these men and women are stationed at bases across the country. While the U.S. military has a footprint in every state in the country, the Space Force has an especially strong presence in Colorado.

U.S. Army

• Active duty-troop count: 26,867 — 6th most of 50 states (6.5% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 46.0 per 10,000 people — 5th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 3,758 — 17th most of 50 states (2.2% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 6.4 per 10,000 people — 12th highest of 50 states

U.S. Navy

• Active duty-troop count: 799 — 19th most of 50 states (0.3% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 1.4 per 10,000 people — 20th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 997 — 15th most of 50 states (1.8% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 1.7 per 10,000 people — 14th highest of 50 states

U.S. Marine Corps

• Active duty-troop count: 261 — 21st most of 50 states (0.2% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 0.4 per 10,000 people — 17th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 420 — 22nd most of 50 states (1.5% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 0.7 per 10,000 people — 17th highest of 50 states

U.S. Air Force

• Active duty-troop count: 6,491 — 15th most of 50 states (2.4% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 11.1 per 10,000 people — 22nd highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 3,289 — 6th most of 50 states (4.9% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 5.6 per 10,000 people — 2nd highest of 50 states

U.S. Space Force

• Active duty-troop count: 3,516 — the most of 50 states (46.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 6.0 per 10,000 people — the highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: N/A
• Concentration of reserve troops: N/A

Army National Guard

• Active duty-troop count: N/A
• Concentration of active-duty troops: N/A
• Reserve troop count: 3,636 — 16th fewest of 50 states (1.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 6.2 per 10,000 people — 4th lowest of 50 states

Air National Guard

• Active duty-troop count: N/A
• Concentration of active-duty troops: N/A
• Reserve troop count: 1,680 — 21st fewest of 50 states (1.6% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 2.9 per 10,000 people — 15th lowest of 50 states

U.S. Coast Guard

• Total Guardsman count: 13 — 19th fewest of 50 states (0.2% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve and active-duty Guardsman: >1 per 10,000 people — 16th lowest of 50 states

U.S. Department of Defense Total

• Active duty-troop count: 37,934 — 9th most of 50 states (3.3% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 65.0 per 10,000 people — 10th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 13,793 — 24th most of 50 states (1.8% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 23.6 per 10,000 people — 18th lowest of 50 states

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.