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 North Dakota has made the state a critical hub for American military operations.
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The Department of Defense has a work force of about half a million more people than Walmart, the world’s largest private sector employer. Of the nearly 2.6 million Americans employed by the DOD, only about 734,000 are civilians, and the rest 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 have troops stationed in North Dakota, the U.S. Air Force has an especially large footprint. The U.S. Air Force traces its roots back to 1907, when it was established as the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The Air Force spun off from the Army in 1947 under the National Security Act, becoming an independent military branch. Today, there are over 265,600 active-duty men and women serving in the Air Force.

Currently, North Dakota is home to the second highest per capita concentration of active-duty Air Force personnel among the 50 states. According to data from the DOD’s 2022 Demographics Profile, there are about 7,200 men and women serving in the Air Force in North Dakota, or about 92 for every 10,000 people in the state. For comparison, there are only 8 active-duty Air Force service members for every 10,000 people nationwide.

North Dakota’s status as a hub for the U.S. Air Force is due in large part to the presence of several major installations. These include Grand Forks Air Force Base, located just outside the city of Grand Forks, and Minot Air Force Base in Ward County. (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 North Dakota.

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 Air Force has an especially strong presence in North Dakota.

U.S. Army

• Active duty-troop count: 36 — 3rd fewest of 50 states (>0.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 0.5 per 10,000 people — 11th lowest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 200 — 3rd fewest of 50 states (0.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 2.6 per 10,000 people — 6th lowest of 50 states

U.S. Navy

• Active duty-troop count: 5 — 5th fewest of 50 states (>0.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 0.1 per 10,000 people — 7th lowest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 58 — 3rd fewest of 50 states (0.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 0.7 per 10,000 people — 14th lowest of 50 states

U.S. Marine Corps

• Active duty-troop count: 14 — 3rd fewest of 50 states (>0.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 0.2 per 10,000 people — 9th lowest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 33 — 6th fewest of 50 states (0.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 0.4 per 10,000 people — 13th lowest of 50 states

U.S. Air Force

• Active duty-troop count: 7,178 — 13th most of 50 states (2.7% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 92.1 per 10,000 people — 2nd highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 42 — 15th fewest of 50 states (0.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 0.5 per 10,000 people — 16th lowest of 50 states

U.S. Space Force

• Active duty-troop count: 40 — 13th most of 50 states (0.5% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 0.5 per 10,000 people — 5th 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: 2,978 — 10th fewest of 50 states (0.9% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 38.2 per 10,000 people — the highest of 50 states

Air National Guard

• Active duty-troop count: N/A
• Concentration of active-duty troops: N/A
• Reserve troop count: 1,149 — 12th fewest of 50 states (1.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 14.7 per 10,000 people — 5th highest of 50 states

U.S. Coast Guard

• Total Guardsman count: None
• Concentration of reserve and active-duty Guardsman: N/A

U.S. Department of Defense Total

• Active duty-troop count: 7,273 — 25th most of 50 states (0.6% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 93.3 per 10,000 people — 4th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 4,460 — 7th fewest of 50 states (0.6% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 57.2 per 10,000 people — 3rd highest of 50 states

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