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Where U.S. Active-Duty Personnel Are Based

Share of all active-duty members stationed in the United States, the ten largest states, latest quarter, %

California leads at 14.2%
Current·Data to Q3 2026

Plays the chart through its history. Pauses are where a new leader takes first place.

Defense Manpower Data Center, Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country: active duty (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard) by assigned duty location. National Guard, reserves and civilians are not included. The U.S. total includes the territories and members whose state is unknown. The ten states are those with the largest shares when the chart was made (March 2026); the map shows every state.

The states hosting the most U.S.-based active-duty service members, as a share of everyone on active duty in the United States. The map of active duty by state covers all fifty states and DC.

What this chart reads·10 series

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Sources·10 sources

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Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · California. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · Colorado. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · Florida. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · Georgia. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · Hawaii. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · North Carolina. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · South Carolina. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · Texas. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · Virginia. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Share of U.S. Active-Duty Military Personnel · Washington. Source: Defense Manpower Data Center, "Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country" (quarterly location reports), active-duty total. Public information (dwp.dmdc.osd.mil). Share calculated by Palanor.

Charts are drawn from Palanor's signal library and recomputed from source data on every view. Transformations (changes, indexing, year-on-year rates) are Palanor's.

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