Trailing only operations and maintenance, compensation and benefits for military personnel is the second largest spending category in the U.S. defense budget. Personnel costs accounted for nearly a quarter of America’s $766 billion defense bill in fiscal 2022.
Though thousands of American troops remain deployed overseas, even after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the vast majority of armed service members are stationed at bases within the United States. There are hundreds of military bases across the country that are collectively home to over 1 million active-duty personnel and their families. Many of these installations have populations equivalent to that of a mid-size city. (Here is a look at the county in every state with the most military personnel.)
Using the Department of Defense’s report Demographics Profile of the Military Community for 2019 – the most recent year of comprehensive data by base – 24/7 Wall St. identified the largest military base in each state. For the purposes of this story, only bases housing at least 100 active-duty military personnel for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and DOD were considered. Iowa, Oregon, and West Virginia are the only states that have no bases with 100 or more troops.
The Army is the largest branch of the U.S. military by headcount, and the largest share of bases on this list – 20 in total – are Army bases. The Army uses Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), Georgia; Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for basic training, and each of these bases ranks as the largest base in its state. (These are the 21 bases where the U.S. military trains.)
Other bases serve a variety of functions, including operational support, maintaining deployment-ready forces, and continued advanced training.
Here are the largest military bases in each state.
Alabama: Fort Novosel (formerly Fort Rucker)
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 3,860
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 9,805
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 26 miles from Dothan
Alaska: Fort Jonathan Wainwright
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 6,117
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 13,112
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 1 miles from Fairbanks
Arizona: Davis-Monthan AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 5,995
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 12,919
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: Tucson
Arkansas: Little Rock AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 3,536
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 8,108
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 18 miles from Little Rock
California: Camp Pendleton
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 39,690
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 70,700
- Service branch: Marine Corps
- Location: 35 miles from San Diego
Colorado: Fort Carson
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 24,520
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 57,473
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 6 miles from Colorado Springs
Connecticut: New London NAVSUBBASE
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 6,385
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 13,856
- Service branch: Navy
- Location: 50 miles from Hartford
Delaware: Dover AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 3,484
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 7,718
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 5 miles from Dover
Florida: Mayport NAVSTA
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 10,442
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 25,013
- Service branch: Navy
- Location: 10 miles from Jacksonville
Georgia: Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning)
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 24,305
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 46,785
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 5 miles from Columbus
Hawaii: Schofield Barracks
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 15,057
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 34,022
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 20 miles from Honolulu
Idaho: Mountain Home AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 3,387
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 7,171
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 50 miles from Boise
Illinois: Naval Station Great Lakes
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 15,726
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 21,875
- Service branch: Navy
- Location: 30 miles from Chicago
Indiana: DFAS Indianapolis Center
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 149
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 450
- Service branch: DoD
- Location: 14 miles from Indianapolis
Iowa: No base with over 100 troops
- Active-duty personnel stationed in state: 271
Kansas: Fort Riley
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 15,214
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 33,295
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 50 miles from Topeka
Kentucky: Fort Campbell
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 26,824
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 62,977
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 50 miles from Nashville
Louisiana: Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk)
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 7,783
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 17,384
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 60 miles from Alexandria
Maine: Brunswick NAS
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 404
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 1,011
- Service branch: Navy
- Location: 31 miles from Portland
Maryland: Fort George G. Meade
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 11,140
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 26,041
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 15 miles from Baltimore
Massachusetts: Hanscom AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 833
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 1,957
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 20 miles from Boston
Michigan: Detroit Arsenal
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 127
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 480
- Service branch: Army
- Location: Warren
Minnesota: Fort Snelling
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 262
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 799
- Service branch: Army
- Location: Minneapolis
Mississippi: Keesler AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 5,162
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 9,587
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: Biloxi
Missouri: Fort Leonard Wood
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 12,218
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 23,479
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 85 miles from Springfield
Montana: Malmstrom AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 3,242
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 6,792
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 2 miles from Great Falls
Nebraska: Offutt AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 6,012
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 14,379
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 8 miles from Omaha
Nevada: Nellis AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 10,168
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 21,937
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 8 miles from Las Vegas
New Hampshire: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 959
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 2,064
- Service branch: Navy
- Location: Portsmouth
New Jersey: McGuire AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 4,510
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 9,755
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 18 miles from Trenton
New Mexico: Cannon AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 4,633
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 8,986
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 7 miles from Clovis
New York: Fort Drum
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 15,195
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 32,011
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 8 miles from Watertown
North Carolina: Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg)
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 45,055
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 109,101
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 10 miles from Fayetteville
North Dakota: Minot AFB
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- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 5,625
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 11,031
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 13 miles from Minot
Ohio: Wright-Patterson AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 5,401
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 13,914
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 10 miles from Dayton
Oklahoma: Fort Sill
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 13,310
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 26,189
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 90 miles from Oklahoma City
Oregon: No base with over 100 troops
- Active-duty personnel stationed in state: 1,579
Pennsylvania: Carlisle Barracks
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 503
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 1,903
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 18 miles from Harrisburg
Rhode Island: Naval Station Newport
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 3,269
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 7,191
- Service branch: Navy
- Location: Newport
South Carolina: Fort Jackson
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 11,545
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 20,589
- Service branch: Army
- Location: Columbia
South Dakota: Ellsworth AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 3,348
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 7,118
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 3 miles from Rapid City
Tennessee: Naval Support Activity Mid-South
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 676
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 2,014
- Service branch: Navy
- Location: 22 miles from Memphis
Texas: Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood)
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 36,697
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 83,815
- Service branch: Army
- Location: Killeen
Utah: Hill AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 4,201
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 9,985
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 6 miles from Ogden
Vermont: Burlington IAP-AGS
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 113
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 266
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: 151 miles from Albany
Virginia: Norfolk Naval Base
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 47,368
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 100,893
- Service branch: Navy
- Location: Norfolk
Washington: Fort Lewis
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 26,512
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 62,831
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 12 miles from Tacoma
West Virginia: No base with over 100 troops
- Active-duty personnel stationed in state: 174
Wisconsin: Fort McCoy
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 290
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 1,072
- Service branch: Army
- Location: 43 miles from La Crosse
Wyoming: Francis E Warren AFB
- Active-duty personnel stationed at base: 3,066
- All personnel assigned to base, incl. military family members: 6,716
- Service branch: Air Force
- Location: Cheyenne
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