ARLINGTON, Va. — The Department of Defense (DoD) spent $68.5 billion in Virginia in 2023, making it the number two state in the country in terms of DOD dollars spent, according to a new report from the DoD.
"For Virginia, it shows again how important the Commonwealth is to the national security of the nation," said Old Dominion University Economics Professor Bob McNab.
As good as the numbers sound, there is this fact: Virginia was previously the number one state in the country for defense spending in 2022 and 2021. Texas is now number one, with $71.5 billion spent in 2023.
But, McNab said Virginia is still in a good spot.
"The report shows that Texas was number one with regards to the total amount of spending, but what we're really interested in is spending as a percent of overall economic activity in the state. So, while Texas had around $3 billion more of spending, as a percentage of overall economic activity, Virginia was number one, and that's not surprising given the number of active-duty personnel stationed in Hampton Roads and the presence of military facilities throughout the state," he said.
According to the report, HII -- the parent company of Newport News Shipbuilding -- was the top spending defense contractor in Virginia, spending more than $3.8 billion.
Norfolk came in first place in Virginia in terms of payroll by locality with more than 65,000 active, civilian, reserve, and National Guard personnel. Virginia Beach came in second place in the state with more than 29,000 military-related employees.
As far as state rankings, North Carolina came in 17th place, with $12.8 billion Defense Department dollars spent in the Tar Heel state.
In North Carolina, the location for the most spending -- $1.3 billion -- was in Cumberland County, home to Fort Liberty. Onslow County, home to Camp Lejeune, came in second place, with $1 billion dollars.