States with the most active-duty military members

The largest army in the world as of 2022—with about 2 million active members—belongs to China, according to the CIA's World Factbook; 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—yet the nation's military spending totals more than twice as much as China and India combined.

Active-duty service members are based around the world, but the vast majority of them—nearly 1.2 million—are stationed in the U.S. Stacker compiled a list of the states with the most active-duty military members using data from the Department of Defense 2021 Demographics Report: Profile of the Military Community.

There are active military members in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. But almost 50% of them—belonging to five of the six branches of the U.S. military—are stationed in five states: California, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia.

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 Space Force. All branches are part of the Defense Department.

The Coast Guard, 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.

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#51. West Virginia

- Number of active-duty military members: 123
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.0%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 7

#50. Vermont

- Number of active-duty military members: 127
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.0%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 20

#49. Maine

- Number of active-duty military members: 201
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.0%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 15

#48. Iowa

- Number of active-duty military members: 231
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.0%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 7

#47. Minnesota

- Number of active-duty military members: 522
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.0%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 9

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#46. Wisconsin

- Number of active-duty military members: 747
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.1%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 13

#45. Oregon

- Number of active-duty military members: 886
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.1%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 21

#44. Michigan

- Number of active-duty military members: 969
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.1%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 10

#43. Indiana

- Number of active-duty military members: 1,028
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.1%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 15

#42. New Hampshire

- Number of active-duty military members: 1,174
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.1%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 84

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#41. Massachusetts

- Number of active-duty military members: 2,157
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.2%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 31

#40. Pennsylvania

- Number of active-duty military members: 2,208
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.2%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 17

#39. Tennessee

- Number of active-duty military members: 2,348
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.2%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 33

#38. Wyoming

- Number of active-duty military members: 3,176
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 546

#37. Rhode Island

- Number of active-duty military members: 3,262
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 298

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#36. Montana

- Number of active-duty military members: 3,355
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 299

#35. South Dakota

- Number of active-duty military members: 3,488
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 383

#34. Idaho

- Number of active-duty military members: 3,608
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 186

#33. Delaware

- Number of active-duty military members: 3,623
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 356

#32. Arkansas

- Number of active-duty military members: 3,818
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 125

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#31. Utah

- Number of active-duty military members: 4,640
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.4%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 137

#30. Nebraska

- Number of active-duty military members: 6,362
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.5%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 323

#29. Connecticut

- Number of active-duty military members: 6,385
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.5%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 176

#28. New Jersey

- Number of active-duty military members: 6,461
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.6%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 70

#27. Ohio

- Number of active-duty military members: 6,605
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.6%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 56

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#26. North Dakota

- Number of active-duty military members: 7,514
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.6%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 964

#25. Alabama

- Number of active-duty military members: 7,786
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.7%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 153

#24. District of Columbia

- Number of active-duty military members: 8,972
- Percent of total active-duty force: 0.8%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 1,336

#23. Mississippi

- Number of active-duty military members: 11,446
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.0%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 389

#22. Nevada

- Number of active-duty military members: 12,373
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.1%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 389

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#21. New Mexico

- Number of active-duty military members: 12,701
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.1%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 601

#20. Louisiana

- Number of active-duty military members: 14,378
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.2%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 313

#19. Missouri

- Number of active-duty military members: 15,570
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 252

#18. Alaska

- Number of active-duty military members: 18,935
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.6%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 2,581

#17. Arizona

- Number of active-duty military members: 19,019
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.6%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 258

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#16. New York

- Number of active-duty military members: 19,520
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.7%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 99

#15. Oklahoma

- Number of active-duty military members: 21,425
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.8%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 533

#14. Illinois

- Number of active-duty military members: 21,534
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.9%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 171

#13. Kansas

- Number of active-duty military members: 21,663
- Percent of total active-duty force: 1.9%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 738

#12. Maryland

- Number of active-duty military members: 29,244
- Percent of total active-duty force: 2.5%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 474

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#11. Kentucky

- Number of active-duty military members: 35,064
- Percent of total active-duty force: 3.0%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 777

#10. South Carolina

- Number of active-duty military members: 37,467
- Percent of total active-duty force: 3.2%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 709

#9. Colorado

- Number of active-duty military members: 38,035
- Percent of total active-duty force: 3.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 651

#8. Hawaii

- Number of active-duty military members: 40,539
- Percent of total active-duty force: 3.5%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 2,815

#7. Washington

- Number of active-duty military members: 61,771
- Percent of total active-duty force: 5.3%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 793

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#6. Florida

- Number of active-duty military members: 64,318
- Percent of total active-duty force: 5.5%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 289

#5. Georgia

- Number of active-duty military members: 69,391
- Percent of total active-duty force: 6.0%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 636

#4. North Carolina

- Number of active-duty military members: 99,135
- Percent of total active-duty force: 8.5%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 927

#3. Texas

- Number of active-duty military members: 116,970
- Percent of total active-duty force: 10.1%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 390

#2. Virginia

- Number of active-duty military members: 126,529
- Percent of total active-duty force: 10.9%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 1,457

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#1. California

- Number of active-duty military members: 157,639
- Percent of total active-duty force: 13.6%
- Active-duty military members per 100,000: 404