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 Texas has made the state a critical hub for American military operations.
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The Department of Defense is the largest employer in the United States, and one of the largest in the world. There were nearly 2.6 million people on the DOD payroll in 2022, about half a million more than the global workforce of Walmart, the world’s largest private sector employer. Of all DOD employees, only 734,000 are civilians.

There are over 1.1 million active-duty service members across all service branches, as well as 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 Texas, the U.S. Army and Air Force each have an especially large footprint. The U.S. Army was established in 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence was signed. Not only the oldest branch of the American military, it is also the largest, with over 412,300 active-duty troops. 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, Texas is home to nearly 17% of all active-duty troops serving in the U.S. Army and over 13% of all active-duty Air Force personnel. According to data from the DOD’s 2022 Demographics Profile, there are about 68,800 active-duty Army and 34,900 active-duty Air Force service men and women stationed in Texas, more troops than either service branch has in any other state.

Texas’s status as a hub for the U.S. Army and Air Force is due in large part to the presence of several major installations. These include Fort Bliss, headquartered in El Paso, Fort Cavazos, located outside of Killeen, as well as the Sheppard and Dyess Air Force Bases, located outside of Wichita Falls and Abilene, respectively. (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 Texas.

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 Army and Air Force have an especially strong presence in Texas.

U.S. Army

• Active duty-troop count: 68,846 — the most of 50 states (16.7% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 22.9 per 10,000 people — 10th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 17,912 — the most of 50 states (10.6% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 6.0 per 10,000 people — 17th highest of 50 states

U.S. Navy

• Active duty-troop count: 6,467 — 9th most of 50 states (2.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 2.2 per 10,000 people — 18th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 5,460 — 3rd most of 50 states (10.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 1.8 per 10,000 people — 12th highest of 50 states

U.S. Marine Corps

• Active duty-troop count: 2,092 — 9th most of 50 states (1.4% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 0.7 per 10,000 people — 16th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 3,243 — 2nd most of 50 states (11.7% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 1.1 per 10,000 people — 7th highest of 50 states

U.S. Air Force

• Active duty-troop count: 34,923 — the most of 50 states (13.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 11.6 per 10,000 people — 19th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 5,963 — 3rd most of 50 states (8.9% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 2.0 per 10,000 people — 24th highest of 50 states

U.S. Space Force

• Active duty-troop count: 255 — 5th most of 50 states (3.3% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 0.1 per 10,000 people — 15th 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: 19,011 — the most of 50 states (5.9% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 6.3 per 10,000 people — 5th lowest of 50 states

Air National Guard

• Active duty-troop count: N/A
• Concentration of active-duty troops: N/A
• Reserve troop count: 3,191 — 6th most of 50 states (3.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 1.1 per 10,000 people — 2nd lowest of 50 states

U.S. Coast Guard

• Reserve Guardsman count: 344 — 6th most of 50 states (5.6% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve Guardsman: 0.1 per 10,000 people — 24th highest of 50 states

U.S. Department of Defense Total

• Active duty-troop count: 112,583 — 3rd most of 50 states (9.9% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 37.5 per 10,000 people — 18th highest of 50 states
• Reserve troop count: 55,124 — the most of 50 states (7.4% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 18.4 per 10,000 people — 6th lowest of 50 states

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