States with the most active-duty military members
The largest army in the world as of 2024鈥攚ith about 2 million active members鈥攂elongs to China, according to the ; India holds the #2 spot with 1.5 million active-duty members. And the United States follows close behind with roughly 1.3 million service members on active duty鈥攜et the nation's military spending totals more than as China and India combined.
The U.S. military force is the smallest it's been in more than 80 years, since World War II鈥攁nd it's , down to about 1.28 million amid , federal , and losing members who . The military's scope and missions, however, remain robust.
Active-duty service members are based around the world, but the vast majority of them鈥攏early 1.2 million鈥攁re stationed in the U.S. To see where exactly, 麻豆原创 compiled a list of the states with the most active-duty military members using data from the Department of Defense's .
There are active military members in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. But almost 50% of them鈥攂elonging to five of the 鈥攁re stationed in five states. On the other extreme, eight states are home to fewer than 1,000 members (per state) of the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and the most recently created . All branches are part of the Defense Department.
The , which belongs to the Department of Homeland Security, wasn't taken into account in this ranking, which also doesn't include non-active-duty military members like those in the reserves and National Guard.
Read on to find out which states have the most active-duty military members鈥攁nd how many there are where you call home.
