Military Members by State [Updated March 2023] (2024)

The military is an incredibly important component of almost every country in the world. The United States emphasized its military strength, investing sizable amounts of money and other resources to ensure a powerful, stable, and reliable military service. The U.S. military consistently ranks very high across the board and is one of the strongest in the world. In addition, it is also one of the most populated, with roughly half of 1% of Americans serving in the military. Although the country got rid of the mandatory draft, it still remains a huge force, as it attracts many people with the promise of career opportunities and security throughout their lives.

The military's organizational structure is rather complicated in the United States, particularly because various departments handle different military tasks. The DoD (Department of Defense) is home to 3 different military departments, including the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. The Army is subdivided into various other departments, and even the Navy and Air Force are split into several other divisions, such as the Space Force, a relatively new addition. Even the Coast Guard is an institution that is legally considered a military service, although it is a part of the Department of Homeland Security. This is why it is sometimes difficult to fully understand how many people are currently listed in the military today.

The Military By the Numbers

Today, there are roughly 1.4 active individuals in the military. Still, the numbers are even higher when considering the Coast Guard or other divisions that are not always strictly considered military due to the internal organization of the US military departments, defense, and homeland security.

As of 2018, the Army ranked as the most populated department, followed by the Navy and Air Force. While the Army accounted for roughly 35% of the active-duty personnel, the Navy and Air Force amounted to about 24% each.

The Army is more diverse than ever when it comes to gender; over 16% of enlisted forces and 19% of enlisted corps are women. Having said that, minorities and women are still rather underrepresented across the board, especially considering the large scale of the military in the United States. Even the racial and ethnic diversity of people enlisted in the military varies, depending on different services. Oftentimes, minority representation seems to rank higher for female recruits. It’s also worth noting how racial diversity drops at the higher leadership level of the military, which features predominantly white and male leadership.

Military Participation By State

Because it is so vast, military personnel comes from all over the country. Still, the top five states providing new recruits (as of 2018 analytics) were California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and New York. These states also happen to be some of the most densely populated areas in the United States. There is an obvious connection between large local populations and the number of people who enlist in the military.

California has the largest number of recruits, with 19,504 new military members joining in 2018. By contrast, the District of Columbia had the fewest recruits, with only 93.

Some states also have large military recruitment numbers in relation to their population. South Carolina, Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, and Georgia all had ratios of 18 to 24-year-olds being recruited at a higher level than expected based on population size.

When looking at active-duty military personnel, the state rankings are similar. California (125,000), Texas (111,000), North Carolina (96,000), Virginia (91,000), and Georgia (55,000) are the states with the most active-duty military members.

Active Duty Military Members by State

In terms of active-duty military members, each branch is popular in different states. For the Army, most members live in Texas (73,152), Georgia (52,576), North Carolina (46,994), Kentucky (34,675), and Washington (28,454).

For active duty Navy personnel, Virginia, California, Florida, Washington, and Illinois are the most populated states. There are between 12,000 and 81,000 Navy members located in each of these states.

California, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, and Hawaii are the most popular homes for Marine Corps members while for the Coast Guard, it is Texas, Florida, California, Virginia, and New Mexico.

Overall, the states with the most active-duty military members are California (162,362), Virginia (130,857), Texas (118,691), North Carolina (100,673), and Georgia (69,834).