Copyright Simple Flying
What are the largest United States Air Force bases by population? It is not possible to give a complete and consistent ranking for the largest airfields by population. In some cases, the number of deployed personnel is not disclosed, and with others, it can vary significantly depending on deployments in that region. The population also varies depending on what is being counted. For example, are only active personnel counted, or also civilian contractors and associated families? Breakdowns in these figures are not always given. This list will provide seven of the largest bases by population, although these may not be the seven largest due to deployment fluctuations and the criteria used. The airbases are ranked based on disclosed and estimated active duty numbers. When possible, the ranking is by Air Force active duty numbers. The bases listed below should be understood more as some of the Air Force's top bases by population, rather than specifically the top seven. Some of the Air Force bases listed below are also some of the largest air bases by other metrics. 7 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Around 5,400 active-duty personnel The total personnel with civilian contractors at Wright-Patterson is around 38,000 employees. The base claims it is the largest single-site employer in Ohio, "with over 38,000 employees, including military, civilian, and contractors." These employees are mostly living off the base in surrounding communities, including Beavercreek, Fairborn, Riverside, and Huber Heights. According to the Census Reporter, only 1,560 people are actually on the base "within the fence." The active duty personnel at the base are estimated to be around 5,400, rising to around 6,300 after military reserves are added. Contractors are estimated to be around 12,000. In late 2024, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base got into the news as a nationwide scare over unidentified drones flying around airports rocked the country. Like other military and civilian airports, Wright-Patterson reported mysterious drones flying over its airbase and was forced to shutdown its airspace for a while. In the UK and elsewhere, steps are being taken to give militaries more freedom in countering mysterious intruding drones. 6 Hill Air Force Base Approximately 5,608 active duty personnel Hill Air Force Base reported in 2022 that it has a total of 27,000 members made up of active duty, civilian, and contractor personnel. The 2024 Economic Impact report for the base stated it has an authorized active duty personnel of 5,608 and an Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard of 913. It also has 14,151 Government Civilians and 6,211 contract civilians. The report says the base has a total workforce of 26,893. Military dependents number some 5,660, giving it a total of 32,553. The host unit at Hill is the AFMC's 75th Air Base Wing, while tenant units include operational fighter wings of Air Combat Command and Air Force Reserve Command. Hill Air Force Base is one of the largest and most important air bases in the United States, but it is also notable for being the highest air base in altitude at 4,787 feet. There are some Army airfields higher. For example, Camp Navajo - Navajo Army Airfield, Arizona, is set at 7,100 feet above sea level. 5 Travis Air Force Base Approximately 7,348 active-duty Air Force personnel Travis Air Force Base is famous for being the "Gateway to the Pacific" and is a massive logistics hub for the US Air Force. There are very precise figures for the number of people stationed at Travis thanks to the 2024 Economic Impact Analysis for the base. The base has 420 buildings and a workforce of 13,336 military members and civilian employees. This includes 7,520 active-duty personnel, of which the vast majority (7,348) are Air Force personnel. It also includes 163 Navy/Marine personnel and nine Army guys. Of the 7,520 active duty personnel, 4,913, or 65%, live in the local area. Additionally, the base has 2,384 Air Force Reserve personnel along with 3,432 civilian personnel. Civilian employees are divided into six major categories: General Schedule, Wage Grade, Non-Appropriated Fund, Commissary, contractor, and private business. According to the same report, approximately 25,143 military retirees and their families reside outside the 50-mile local radius of Travis AFB. Of these military retirees, approximately 7,268 military retirees and their families reside in the local area. Being a major logistics hub, Travis is one of the five main bases for the Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy, the largest aircraft in the US Air Force inventory. 4 Nellis Air Force Base Around 10,000 active duty personnel Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada is one of the world's largest and has a workforce of around 14,000, which breaks into around 10,000 active military personnel and around 5,000 contractors. That figure is found on the base's fact sheet and includes military and civilian members. If family members and retirees are added in, then the broader community figure can rise to around 60,000, although not all of these are "inside the fence." The base says it is "one of the largest single employers in Southern Nevada" and that it is a major focal point for advanced combat aviation training. The air bases' latest Environmental Assessment report states, "Nellis AFB is responsible for approximately 36,500 jobs that directly and indirectly employ military and civilian personnel on and off the base." The report does not appear to break down the number of active duty personnel at the base. Nellis is a base whose aircraft include fighter jets, bombers, tankers, military transports, and more. The base itself covers an area of over 14,000 acres, with the total land area occupied by Nellis and its restricted range being around 5,000 square miles. There are another 7,700 miles of airspace to the north and east of the restricted ranges that are available for military flight operations. 3 Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) Around 12,500 active-duty Air Force-only personnel Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) is a multiservice joint base in Texas. It includes the Air Force's Lackland, the service's largest training wing used for Basic Military Training, and Randolph, which hosts the Air Education/Training commands. In 2008, the base estimated that it directly employed 10,233 personnel, with the population rising to 16,469, accounting for military dependents. That information is obviously outdated. In 2014, JBSA added the factoid that it serves 980,000 meals in dining facilities monthly. Looking for more up-to-date information, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts stated in 2023, "Lackland AFB, originally a part of Kelly Field, consists of more than 24,000 active-duty members." In a table on Joint Base San Antonio in Texas and its economic impact, it lists the active duty Army as 6,373, the active duty Navy as 1,101, the active duty Air Force as 12,532, the Marines as 139, the Space Force as 187, and the Coast Guard as 46. Adding to this is the active duty National Guard/Reserve at 11,955. Full-time civilian personnel were around 25,000. 2 Eglin Air Force Base Around 13,000 active-duty personnel (including active-duty, reserve, and trainee servicemembers) Florida's Eglin Air Force Base is another massive US Air Force Base, and it is one of the most important air bases for testing new aircraft. Finding figures for its population is difficult, as some sources put the active duty personnel at around 4,500, while others put it at over 8,000, rising to around 10,000 with reserves. Most useful are the numbers found in its Environmental Assessment report. The Eglin Air Force Base Cantonment Areas Draft Environmental Assessment talks about the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker and Gopher Tortoise populations, as well as the active duty populations. It says that in 2022, Eglin AFB had a total of 81,134 personnel, of which 13,052 were active-duty, reserve, and trainee service members. It also specifies the base has around 7,000 "appropriated fund civilians", 17,000 retirees, 46,700 dependents, and others. It adds that the base directly supports 20,440 jobs and indirectly supports 16,234 jobs. One interesting factoid included is that this includes an annual payroll of approximately $2 billion. 1 Ramstein Air Force Base Around 16,000 combined personnel Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany is included as it is regarded as the largest US Air Force Base outside of the United States. It has a total military and US civilian population of around 16,000. It should be noted that the large Kaiserlautern Military Community population is much larger, at over 50,000. There are also thousands of German workers employed at the Kaiserslautern Military Community. As stated, the number of deployed personnel at Ramstein is not a static public figure, with deployments varying. The base's population was much larger during the Cold War. Ramstein functions as a major logistical base, allowing the US to surge capabilities into Europe when needed and to sustain its operations there. Ramstein is the headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Force Africa and the NATO Allied Air Command. It was built by the French and US armies soon after World War II.
