Over 14% of All Active-Duty American Military Personnel Live Here

The U.S. military relies heavily on its presence in California. Military members in California play a valuable role in ensuring the state’s safety, including deploying the National Guard to fight wildfires and protecting the borders. U.S. President Donald Trump recently issued a directive which gave the Department of Defense control over public land near the U.S.-Mexico border — the Roosevelt Reservation specifically — in an attempt to staunch the flow of illegal immigration. This directive also allows the Trump administration and the Department of Defense to construct barriers or use more complex detection equipment to aid in the goals of reducing immigrant traffic. Under this administration, this move is certainly not surprising, as President Trump campaigned on immigration issues as a huge part of what he would fix with the country. (Most undocumented immigrants eligible for Trump’s ‘self-deportation’ live in these 12 states.)

However, distilling what California military personnel do down to border protection and fighting wildfires is reductive at best. These military members aid in supporting the community during natural disasters; effectively training airmen, soldiers, and sailors; deploying overseas for troop development or conflict management; preparing new military leaders; and aiding in national readiness should any conflicts arise. Given that California is so large geographically, it’s unsurprising that a significant amount of military troops live in this state. Here, 24/7 Wall St. determined how many members of each military branch — including its reserve forces — are stationed in California. To do so, we used the Department of Defense’s 2023 Demographics Profile of the Military Community. This is the most current and up-to-date profile at this time. We included information on troop counts and concentrations, all taken from the Department of Defense, as well as a brief overview of California’s military history sourced from various museums and historical initiatives.

This previously published article was updated in May 2025 to update the data to the 2023 Demographics and to give a deeper look into Californian military history.

Military History in California

California has a long and storied military history. The state’s population grew significantly upon the discovery of gold in 1849. Driven to protect the state and its interest, U.S. President Millard Fillmore designated the Presidio of San Francisco as a military installation. By the 1890s, writes the National Park Service, “the Presidio had evolved from a modest frontier outpost to a major military installation and a base for American expansion into the Pacific.”

The first U.S. Marines had come to California prior to all of the above in 1846 during the Mexican-American War. The West Coast Marine Recruit Depot was established later in 1923, then changed to the Marine Corps Base San Diego the following year. As it stands now, the U.S. Marine Corps is heavily based out of California in Pendleton, San Diego, and Twentynine Palms.

Other conflicts in California’s military history include the California Indian Wars and the Battle of Los Angeles, a bizarre incident during World War II when an anti-aircraft barrage of over 1,440 rounds was deployed during what citizens of Los Angeles believed to be a Japanese aerial attack. However, this was not the case — and theories today suggest perhaps the “culprit” could have been weather balloons.

Why It Matters Now

To maintain preparedness for a host of rising threats, over one million American military personnel are stationed at bases across the country. While the U.S. military has a footprint in every state in the country, some states host larger numbers than others. However, should California want to continue hosting so many troops, it might consider a policy change. California is the only U.S. state that allows no tax exemptions on military retirement income, which is pushing veterans to move elsewhere. Allowing exemptions could encourage veterans to stay in state and contribute to military bases, perhaps in other roles, even after leaving active duty service.

Here is a breakdown of the U.S. military troops in California:

U.S. Army

• Active duty-troop count: 6,066 — 17th most of 50 states (1.6% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 1.8 per 10,000 people 
• Reserve troop count: 15,550 — 2nd most of 50 states (9.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 4.0 per 10,000 people

U.S. Navy

• Active duty-troop count: 75,393 — 2nd most of 50 states (25.8% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 19.3 per 10,000 people 
• Reserve troop count: 7,646 — the most of 50 states (14.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 2.0 per 10,000 people

U.S. Marine Corps

• Active duty-troop count: 57,480 — the most of 50 states (40.3% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 14.8 per 10,000 people
• Reserve troop count: 4,449 — the most of 50 states (16.0% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 1.1 per 10,000 people

U.S. Air Force

• Active duty-troop count: 15,863 — 3rd most of 50 states (6.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 4.1 per 10,000 people
• Reserve troop count: 7,012 — the most of 50 states (10.7% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 1.8 per 10,000 people

U.S. Space Force

• Active duty-troop count: 1,616 — 2nd most of 50 states (19.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 0.4 per 10,000 people
• Reserve troop count: N/A
• Concentration of reserve troops: N/A

Army National Guard

• Active duty-troop count: N/A
• Concentration of active-duty troops: N/A
• Reserve troop count: 12,685 — 3rd most of 50 states (4.0% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 3.3 per 10,000 people

Air National Guard

• Active duty-troop count: N/A
• Concentration of active-duty troops: N/A
• Reserve troop count: 4,853 — 2nd most of 50 states (4.7% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 1.25 per 10,000 people

U.S. Coast Guard

• Total Guardsman count: 767 — 2nd most of 50 states (12.6% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve and active-duty Guardsman: 0.2 per 10,000 people

U.S. Department of Defense Total

• Active duty-troop count: 156,418 — the most of 50 states (14.1% of all active-duty troops in service branch)
• Concentration of active-duty troops: 40.1 per 10,000 people
• Reserve troop count: 52,962 — 2nd most of 50 states (7.1% of all reserve troops in service branch)
• Concentration of reserve troops: 13.6 per 10,000 people

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