Are there any regions in America that are known for producing more soldiers than the national average?

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Powerful_Image6294@reddit

American Samoa and Guam percentage wise. IIRC American Samoa sent 1/4 of their population to serve. Wish they’d get more recognition

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pm-me-kitten-pix@reddit

I wonder if it is seen as an easy way to get off the island and then later relocate to the mainland.

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sgtm7@reddit

Puerto Ricans have freedom of travel to any other part of the USA.

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Comedeorologist@reddit

The military bases in Guam also have an outsized presence compared to the mainland.

It's easy to imagine that being around soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen all the time would steer you into those professions.

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NekoMao92@reddit

Guam is basically a stationary aircraft carrier.

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belinck@reddit

Wrong, tectonic drift means it's moving making it a non-nuclear carrier!

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NekoMao92@reddit

Geological movement is barely any movement... in our lifespan.

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kashy87@reddit

Only one with its own contingent of submarines.

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egamma@reddit

all aircraft carriers have a contingent of submarines.

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kashy87@reddit

No they have a single sub maybe two that are technically assigned to the carrier group. Not always there. The island has an entire set of subs.

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kashy87@reddit

Squadron for some reason that word eluded me until I read shiver.

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Sam_Fear@reddit

I figured. "Set" got the point across it just made me think a group of subs should have a special name like a murder of crows.

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kashy87@reddit

Wolf Pack was a term from I think WW2.

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the_amazing_lee01@reddit

We have to be careful not to put too many people on it though, or it might tip over!

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Don't know if this is true, perhaps it was true at one point, but I have heard there is a general sense of appreciation for being liberated from the Japanese after World War 2 which contributes to the high enlistment rates.

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-Boston-Terrier-@reddit

It's probably a combination of that and just limited economic opportunities. Same with Puerto Rico.

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BensOnTheRadio@reddit

They also have an excellent Law School. Go land crabs!

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lemonprincess23@reddit

American Samoas are also over 40X more likely to play in the NFL compared to the average American

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JohnnyC300@reddit

Honestly, I'm surprised it's not much higher than 40x. There are so very many Samoans in the NFL. And so very few actual Samoans in existance.

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big_sugi@reddit

Not every Polynesian in the NFL is Samoan, though. There are Hawaiians, Tongans, and others, although I think about 80% or more of the Polynesians have Samoan ancestry.

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marbanasin@reddit

I'd be curious how many grew up in the continental US vs developed and moved from Samoa or the islands.

I'd assume it's also a case of a large diaspora now but could be completely off base.

I will say the amount of Samoans who turned out for a UB40 concert I went to in NorCal circa like 2016 was truly phenomenal. Lol. Such a great vibe.

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big_sugi@reddit

Almost all grew up in the states (including Hawai'i), even the ones born in American Samoa. The NFL identified seven players born in American Samoa in early 2025; five of them played HS football in the US. That's not necessarily representative, since three of them are the Sewell brothers, but you can add the Mauigoa brothers to the list since then, and they both went to HS in California.

There're at least three others with Samoan ancestry from Australia or New Zealand, and two of them went to HS in the US. The only exception is Jordan Mailata.

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marbanasin@reddit

Yeah this was kind of my suspicion. I grew up in California and there was a solid diaspora there. So I figured it was a case of the population living in the US being a larger pool and also providing abit of the direct org structure to get into the NFL vs strictly guys from the island making it.

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BlasphemousRykard@reddit

This is a misleading statistic to tell someone on this subreddit. American Samoa has a population of 49,000, compared to the lowest populated state (Wyoming) which has a population of 600,000. Every statistic from there is an outlier because the population is more than 10x lower than any American state.

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big_sugi@reddit

The fact that it has a small population doesn’t automatically make every statistic an outlier. Samoans are disproportionately represented in a handful of areas—notably the NFL and the military. But you don’t see a lot of Samoan basketball players, nor do you see a disproportionately large number of doctors, lawyers, firefighters, or anything else.

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BlasphemousRykard@reddit

They have the highest obesity rate in the entire world, which is also why you probably see them in the NFL. They’re tanks. American Samoa is the smallest territory that the US owns, it’s an outlier in plenty of ways.

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Ozone220@reddit

this is true that it makes the stats weird, but it's very notable that people in the territories do verifiably contribute very hugely proportionally to the military (probably partially to gain the benefits I imagine. IIRC American Samoans don't actually have full citizenship, which is something to take into account too)

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john510runner@reddit

Also Puerto Rico has a higher than average percentage of people who serve in the military as well.

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NeonGamblor@reddit

Yeah I met a ton of Puerto Ricans in the USMC. It made me wonder if the island had more people than I originally thought. Nope, they just serve in the Marines at a super high rate.

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No-Jump4346@reddit

It's hard to say, but the states that give the most tend to have the most population. But from what I have seen online Cali and Texas have the most in terms of total soldiers originating from, but per capita George and Florida has the most. Also, some states will have a lot more soldiers living there per capita like in Alaska, but they aren't usually from Alaska.

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Sheila_Monarch@reddit

Southern states like Texas, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia consistently outperform the average in military enlistment.

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Wallawalla1522@reddit

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-is-not-representative-of-country-2014-7

Outdated article but I wanted to validate this.

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HurtsCauseItMatters@reddit

Here's a more recent one, interesting to see how much some of the states changed.

https://www.security.org/resources/states-highest-military-burden/

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AndrasKrigare@reddit

They're measuring different things recruitment vs. presence. Hawaii has a large military presence relative to its population, but the military presence is mostly from people getting shipped out there on a rotation, not necessarily locals.

So someone who group up in Florida and enlisted there, and then got sent to Hawaii, would appear as "Florida" in the first site and "Hawaii" as the second.

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drnewcomb@reddit

Yes! Many military folks re-register as being residents of certain states that provide tax and other benefits to military members. These states include Texas, Florida, Alaska, Alabama and South Dakota.

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byebybuy@reddit

Imo the raw numbers from that article are the best answer to OP's question:

"This ranking shifts considerably when looking at raw numbers. By total personnel, the five states with the largest military presence are:

California — 216,096
Texas — 170,771
Virginia — 148,637
North Carolina — 116,195
Florida — 106,639"

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Akovsky87@reddit

Also known as states where a lot of people live

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BigPapaJava@reddit

But note that other states with larger populations, like New York, aren’t on the list.

There are definitely cultural factors that go along with the geographic differences and lead to different views of the military and military service in those places.

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big_sugi@reddit

Those numbers are the places where active military currently are stationed. It has nothing to do with enlistment rates.

"The geographic distribution reflects the location of major military installations. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam anchors Hawaii’s high rate, as approximately 55,000 Marines and 5,000 Air Force members are stationed there. Elmendorf-Richardson and Fort Wainwright account for much of Alaska’s. Virginia’s position reflects Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Fort Lee, and Naval Station Norfolk. The Naval Station at Norfolk is the largest naval base in the U.S., serving as the home base for 75 military ships."

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BigPapaJava@reddit

Good catch. I didn’t realize this was full of military bases, but that is what the table is referencing.

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MiketheTzar@reddit

NC is now #9, but that is a fairly recent thing.

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ContributionPure8356@reddit

New York is one of the largest contributors for new recruits to the military.

The key to this question is percentages of new recruits. Not current residence military members.

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byebybuy@reddit

Yep. And the other way the report looks at it, per capita, returns a list of states where not a lot of people live: Alaska, Hawaii, and DC.

I'm kind of reading OP's question as: "If I walked into a room with 1,000 randomly selected armed forces members, what states would most of them be from?"

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HonestLemon25@reddit

But they’ve adjusted it to per 1,000 so the low population shouldn’t affect anything. It seems more like it’s people trying to take the opportunity to get out of Hawaii and Alaska for free considering how isolated they are.

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174wrestler@reddit

A lot of people are in Hawaii and Alaska because they're in the military and as a result their kids are more likely to follow in their footsteps and join.

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Ozone220@reddit

that's military presence though, it's where like forts are and shit (and also 3 of those are just the 3 most populous states). NC here looks like it has a fuck ton proportionally and while we do have somewhat high military service, what we really have is significant military infrastructure more than anything

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ComesInAnOldBox@reddit

Presence and recruitment rate aren't the same thing.

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zman_aligator@reddit

Whole lotta bases in those states too. I would think that plays a role.

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Sheila_Monarch@reddit

Huge role. The government adores cheap and plentiful land for their bases. Which is why with few exceptions, most bases are in the armpit of the surrounding area. Wherever nobody really wants to live voluntarily, swamps, deserts, harsh environments, the government is all over it.

Of course, usually cities will grow around a base for obvious reasons. I think it’s funny when I find myself driving through an area wondering “why in the blue hell would anybody choose to live here? This is awful”, better than average bet there’s a base nearby LOL.

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Bedessilliestsoldier@reddit

Historically both the coastal south and the Appalachians have produced larger than average shares of soldiers. This does have connection to history, with the borderers from Scotland, northern England, and Ulster, who had a long history of borderland and colonial violence settling in Appalachia, and the coastal plantation class coming from aristocratic backgrounds with something of a military ethos.

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jcvtx1800@reddit

You left off "the volunteer state", Tennessee.

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HurtsCauseItMatters@reddit

That because in per capita numbers, TN is in the bottom 15.

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No-Lunch4249@reddit

Can't believe the actual answer to OPs question is so far down

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idekbruno@reddit

Nice pun

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physical-vapor@reddit

If youre talking states, then Alaska. Hawaii. Florida, places like that.

Generally speaking the highest rates of military service are among rural southerners. And native populations. So pacific islanders and native Americans. The largest single group is rural whites, and rural in general, mostly conservative types.

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getElephantById@reddit

If youre talking states, then Alaska. Hawaii. Florida, places like that.

This is not important, really, but I am not clear on the "places like that" part of your comment, because it makes it sound like there is a common thread between all of those places. It's not clear to me what that would be, and how it would affect military service rates!

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SevenSixOne@reddit

Maybe that they're all remote, geographically isolated places?

Pretty much everyone I know who served in the military post-WWII is from a poor family (possibly with ROUGH living conditions) in an economically depressed rural area and graduated high school with an unremarkable GPA. They saw the military as their only way to get away from their crappy home life, get a job, and/or go to college

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tolgren@reddit

The South has been integral to American military success for the country's entire existence.

One of the reasons the insane bloodlust the Left presents towards Confederates is so absurd. If they had been mass executed we likely would have struggled in the later wars.

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thomsenite256@reddit

The south and midwest generally.

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Gloomy_Junket9364@reddit

Any rural area where nationalism is high, education and wages are low, and there’s no other way out for kids.

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godzillasegundo@reddit

Tennessee is nicknamed the Volunteer State because it's had the most enlistment of any state in every US war.

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termgrin@reddit

The Tennessee Volunteers!

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Godzillasbrother@reddit

Seriously how is nobody mentioning the Volunteer State?

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Godzillasbrother@reddit

Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State literally for this reason. We had a massive number of volunteers join the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.

As for whether the numbers reflect that in the modern day, I'm not sure.

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red18wrx@reddit

Mostly the poor regions.

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ft907@reddit

Soldiers tend to come from places with a lot of poverty. Not just in the US but all over the world. Think of the kind of place where a small paycheck, healthcare, some kind of skill, and college tuition are a fair trade for having to kill or get killed because someone said so. So not so much a geographical area but the poorer side of every town will produce more service members.

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listenstowhales@reddit

It’s not even a small paycheck though. Pay gets pretty competitive with the market once you start putting on rank, and if you commission it’s REALLY not bad.

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beenoc@reddit

The actual salary is pretty meh, especially if you're stationed somewhere that isn't cheap, but all the allowances make up for it. I know a guy who used to be in the Navy and was stationed in San Diego - his base pay was nowhere near enough to afford to live there, but a $2000/mo tax-free housing allowance made a big difference.

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listenstowhales@reddit

I disagree. I was making \~$90k as an E-5, which is great when the average household income in the US is $72k

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GWSIII@reddit

Assuming you separated in 2026 you would be making 53k a year since that's where the base pay caps out based on years of service. You need BAH, BAS, Hazard, flight pay, etc. Half of which isn't garunteed. I agree we are paid well but there is a big difference in an E-5 in Oklahoma and a E-5 in DC. (About 35-43k checking it now)

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FunImprovement166@reddit

The military draws most largely from the middle class.

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GeneralBlumpkin@reddit

The vast majority of the military like 95% would never see combat. So while your statement is true it's a bit disingenuous

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My_Uneducated_Guess@reddit

That is so sad and makes so much sense

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Admiral_AKTAR@reddit

Poverty.

Any area with a high rate of poverty will have a disproportionate higher amount of those who serve in the miltery than affluent ones. Its why U.S. territories like Puerto Rico or American Samoa have higher rates. These territories have high rates of poverty compared to the rest of the nation. This same statistic is found in othe nations that dont have mandatory military service. Russia is a great example of this statistic.

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Ken_Thomas@reddit

I'm not certain if it's still true, but when I enlisted the Appalachian region (West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, parts of Pennsylvania, North Carolina) contributed the largest number of US Army and Marine Corps troops per capita.

Poverty and lack of job opportunities are a big part of that, but there's also a pretty powerful tradition of military service in many families. In my 'clan', every male in my grandfather's generation, my father's generation, and my generation (me and all my first cousins) served at least one term in the military.

Personally I think it has a lot to do with the fact that most of the immigrants (including my ancestors) who settled that area were Scots/Irish, and there's a pretty heavy martial tradition in that culture. I've even read that military service could be seen as the equivalent of a 'coming of age' ritual for us.

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ContributionPure8356@reddit

I will say this is my family in Pennsylvania. My clan has a martial heritage going back to the French and Indian war.

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Korplem@reddit

Cali, just because it is the most populated state. But I think if you go by a percentage of the population, it’s American Samoa.

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officerboba@reddit

Out of my 400 class of senior during highschool, probably only 10-15 ended up going to military, I’m curious if it went up since then. If I was back in highschool, I’d probably try to enlist since AI is gonna take over most of the jobs anyways

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ContributionPure8356@reddit

At my high school with 200 graduates, 10% joined the military out of high school.

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Viper_Red@reddit

Until automation and tech comes for those jobs too. The Army is already planning to gut its aviation units to direct more funding towards UAVs.

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officerboba@reddit

But it’s not like they can just fire them lol

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Porschenut914@reddit

US military bases are primarily in the south as the weather more stabile year round, and land cheaper.

One of the biggest factors for recruiting the last 20 years is "do you have a parent in the military?". Its why you get some areas it becomes a continuing cycle.

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ContributionPure8356@reddit

It’s interesting. It’s becoming a class of people. This is why I joined.

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TectonicMongoose@reddit

So Native Americans are actually the most likely to serve of any racial demographic group meaning Many people that serve come from Native American reservations. Nowadays only about half of Native Americans live on reservation land but they are still the overwhelming majority in these lands so that would make those parts of the country some of the very most likely for servicemen to be from.

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one-off-one@reddit

…they are also the most impoverished demographic which may be a confounding variable

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Few-Wrongdoer-5296@reddit

Definitely, especially since the military will do things like provide healthcare and pay for college in order to get people to enlist. Some Native tribes also hold soldiers in high esteem because they have a very strong war and warrior ethos in their cultures. My uncles' tribe is like that (their traditional land has very few natural resources, so they were usually fighting someone else for them) and military service is extremely common among young men and encouraged by tribal leadership.

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one-off-one@reddit

Yep free healthcare, free education, and non-profit grocery stores. Socialism bad until it’s the military :/

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gummibearhawk@reddit

None of that is socialism

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CuriousMost9971@reddit

Yah i dont know. In my family and extended family excluding drafts. There are only 3 of us that served. To inflate that out I have only ever meet 1 other person from my tribe while I was serving. I only meet a second from tribe recently who served.

There was only a few others I meet from other tribes while serving.

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ChefDanyul@reddit

I know it isn’t quite the question OP asked but I’m pretty sure Native Americans have the highest percentage of people that enlist. Historically and today.

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TectonicMongoose@reddit

Ya "most likely to serve" is how I was trying to say they have the highest percentage of people that enlist. And it's been a trend for decades I'm not sure how far back further it goes I think maybe going all the way back to WWI but don't quote me. I'm not an expert on the subject I just happen to know a tiny bit about the subject.

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ChefDanyul@reddit

There was a podcast on the NPR app I listened not too long ago. I can’t remember what the program was called. But it goes back further than that. And also there’s a history of how to classify them in a segregated military.

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Dazzling-Climate-318@reddit

Yes, poor areas with limited employment opportunities are more likely to have higher enlistments.

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nueroticalyme@reddit

Not soldiers, but ohio has produced more astronauts than any other state. Because no placec on earth is far enough away from ohio.

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Slamantha3121@reddit

Yeah, I was in the Air Force and I feel like everyone was from Ohio or Michigan.

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Yummy_Crayons91@reddit

Ohio citizens invented new forms of transportation to leave Ohio.

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one-off-one@reddit

And don’t you forget it! (Looking at you NC)

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ShoddyJuggernaut975@reddit

I know what you mean by that.

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mrinformal@reddit

Half the Marines I've met were from Ohio. And a quarter of the Soldiers! People will do anything to leave that state.

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Creative_Text3018@reddit

I like that.

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GurProfessional9534@reddit

Yes, if you sort it by income level instead of geography.

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hexadecimaldump@reddit

Any place people are poorer than average. The military focuses a lot of time in those areas recruiting at high schools.
Pretty sure nearly everyone in my class at least met with a recruiter, and at least 10-15% joined.

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Fun_Push7168@reddit

Anywhere that's poorer than the national average.

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nis_sound@reddit

The US doesn't have an efficient welfare system. So if you want any sort of WORTHWHILE government assistance, you join the military.

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ElijahNSRose@reddit

Not really. Different regions are producing more in different sections of service. Self-stylized cowboys often become marines. Great Plains people become aviation technicians. Coastal people join the Navy.

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Eened@reddit

You’ll most likely see trends that correlate with regions that have lower socioeconomic conditions. They tend to have heavier recruitment presence in those areas since people are often more desperate to finds ways out.

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bananaland420@reddit

Exactly. All you have to do is look at where recruiting centers are located.

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PvtDipwad@reddit

I got a USMC recruiting office in my hometown next to a designer suit shop. Makes me giggle every time I see them

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Upbeat-Banana-5530@reddit

The one in my town is in between one of the hipster shopping centers and the office buildings for the defense contractors.

"If you can't afford that ethically sourced, carbon neutral, cruelty free burrito and don't feel like working for Raytheon, boy do I have a job for you!" - my local Army recruiter, probably

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Mite-o-Dan@reddit

Literally everywhere. But actually LESS in small towns and out in the country compared to big cities.

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Unique_Statement7811@reddit

Not actually true in the US. The military is disproportionately middle class and recruits from lower income households are underrepresented.

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smokingcrater@reddit

Surprisingly it doesnt play as much as you would think. It is very regional/cultural. Military bases and presence plays a huge role.

https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/sites/default/files/papers/Savell-McMahon-Troop-Numbers-By-State.pdf

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Airbornequalified@reddit

I mean, especially after BRAC, you could debate whether the higher the higher rates of service or the bases came first. Unless you do a whole deep dive into the whole thing to find the chicken or the egg

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officerboba@reddit

I don’t have an answer but I just wanna say this is a good legitimate question, miles better compare to the usual bait questions that non-Americans like to ask in order to pit us against each other.

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bricklegos@reddit (OP)

I asked because I'm from a country with conscription and I'm enlisting tomorrow

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TrashcanDev@reddit

All else aside, I wish you well and may your country never need your deployment save for the cause of helping others.

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officerboba@reddit

I just wanna say, most Singaporeans I have met throughout my travels in Asia as well as within USA have been very intelligent and open minded folks. I love your country

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bricklegos@reddit (OP)

I'll be honest there is a reason they are all intelligent and open minded. They left for a reason ☠️

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OneofTheOldBreed@reddit

They like to eat their durian fruit on subways?

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bricklegos@reddit (OP)

I think that is a war crime anywhere my guy

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GeneralBlumpkin@reddit

I've worked with the Singaporean Air Force in Arizona once. Very professional airmen there 👍

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helic_vet@reddit

I trained with soldiers from the Singaporean Army when I was in the US Army. They were not good soldiers. The lack of morale and professionalism of conscription showed. This was in a two months long field training exercise.

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bricklegos@reddit (OP)

Well most of them didn't want to be there.

I'm enlisting in 5 hours.... I also don't. But what to do?

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airmantharp@reddit

You're going to see a range with any fighting force, right?

In Singapore, without an immediate existential threat, or even an existential threat that feels 'real' to the young men being conscripted, morale is going to be a real problem.

You hear the same from folks serving with regular South Korean troops.

It's a failure of leadership of course, but one that we can all understand.

And I dare any US serviceperson to claim that such morale issues don't exist in the US military!

------------

On the other hand, just like the US military, there are elements of conscript-heavy forces that are absolutely squared the fuck away.

This actually reveals where they place importance on their fighting forces, and if they're competent, that's where their attention is most needed for their defense.

(so we exclude Russia from that list, clearly...)

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GeneralBlumpkin@reddit

Damn 2 months is wild. I was in the us army as well. But I worked with the Singaporeans as a civilian.

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helic_vet@reddit

It was at NTC.

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Persimmon_and_mango@reddit

We don't have conscription, but it is mandatory for men between age 18 and 25 to register for the draft. It's not very popular. Starting in December, men will be registered automatically. So far the government hasn't activated the draft since 1973 or so. The Vietnam War (1955-1975) was so costly and so many Americans protested it that any mention of actively conscripting people is extremely unpopular among Americans. People keep trying to sue the government or pass new laws in an attempt to get rid of the draft (or make it mandatory for women to register too). So far they have all failed though.

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codenameajax67@reddit

How is that received there?

In the us any fictional country with conscription is seens as inherently fascist and authoritarian.

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Muvseevum@reddit

There are countries that have compulsory military service and I don’t think the US has a problem with that.

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codenameajax67@reddit

Yeah because those countries are real.

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Muvseevum@reddit

Germany, for one. Israel also; whatever your opinion on Israel, the US certainly support it.

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codenameajax67@reddit

. . . What are you talking about

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Muvseevum@reddit

Those are two countries that have compulsory military service. I didn’t think it was that complicated.

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codenameajax67@reddit

Oh... Cool random fact.

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Muvseevum@reddit

Uh huh. Have a good day.

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DueLingonberry3022@reddit

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like Germany has mandatory registration at the present, which sounds like what we have here in the US. They had conscription until 2011 when it was suspended. Switzerland does still have compulsory service though. Your point stands, just wanted to elaborate on the other poster and maybe learn something if you have better sources.

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Curmudgy@reddit

It would be better if phrased “which regions (or states) have a higher than average ….” That’s because mathematically, unless they all have an identical contribution, there must be at least one with a higher than average contribution.

But frankly I find this particular question boring. There are some interesting bits of trivia in the answers but it’s mostly not something I’d care about unless the discussion gets into those economic reasons that would, among other things, risk the pitting “against each other” that you object two. I learn more from those disagreements.

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ClerkLonely4061@reddit

This is also something that you could google and get the factual answer.

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Tomj_Oad@reddit

And maybe OP did and wants the more interesting Reddit answer

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ClerkLonely4061@reddit

Maybe yeah.

Im responding to a comment saying how good of a question it is by simply not being bait.

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Tomj_Oad@reddit

I agree with that

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New-Grapefruit1737@reddit

yep because basically nobody gave an accurate answer (that i just googled - hawaii)

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CuppaJoe11@reddit

Generally, more rural states contribute higher percentages of their population to enlistment.

California and Texas produce the most troops by raw numbers though.

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TumpanyTuna@reddit

When I was in the Army the ranks primarily consisted of white southerners and foreigners.

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CuriousMost9971@reddit

It seemed like 1/3 of the Marine Corps was from Ohio, 1/3 was from Texas and the rest was mixed from the rest of the U.S.

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SabresBills69@reddit

Recruiting in thr army targets fol k s from all over the country. You have recruiters in big and small cities who work the area to recruit people.

Navy/Marines,/ air force tends to recruit more where they have bases nearby.

Understand some thr Samoan are not but from other pacific islands. US has protrvyorste with pacific islands that were us soil before 1986. Palua , Micronesia, Marshall islands are us protectorates.

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Premium333@reddit

District 13.

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kritter4life@reddit

Mountain West I think

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Apkef77@reddit

Red States.

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Budsygus@reddit

Red states (Republican leaning, conservative states) seem to produce a higher number of soldiers than the other side. Which is unsurprising when you consider the correlation between red states and education quality.

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Carlpanzram1916@reddit

Yes. Mostly the poorest places. The militaries main appeal is to provide some financial stability and possibly an affordable path to education to young adults. As a result, the levels of military enlistment tend to line up with the levels of poverty pretty reliably.

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Prestigious-Mind-817@reddit

Puerto Rico, American Samoa, much of the southeast

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Fit-Initiative3958@reddit

The territories are probably the most interesting answer percentage-wise: American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico all have strong military-service reputations. For states, Hawaii and Alaska often come up when people talk per capita, while Texas and California dominate more in raw numbers.

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Jarnohams@reddit

also poverty and lack of stable employment / access to higher education in those places. Knowing a ton of puerto ricans, almost everyone knows someone in the military. 50% of my Puerto Rican in-laws served in the military.

the last I checked Puerto Ricans enlist at twice the rate of the mainland US.

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joeinsyracuse@reddit

Generally speaking, poorer people tend towards the military because it is often their best chance of escaping poverty.

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SpinosaurRingTone@reddit

This isn't true. Most servicemembers are middle class.

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Jarnohams@reddit

source?

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SpinosaurRingTone@reddit

double u double u double u dot google dot com

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Jarnohams@reddit

Puerto Ricans enlist at almost twice the rate of the mainland US.

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Mitch_Darklighter@reddit

Yeah, the poorest ones.

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RhymenoserousRex@reddit

Pick any region that has major poverty issues and that's the natural hunting ground of the Military Recruiter. Really your regional map should be a polity map. Folks from the rich/upper middle class part of town tend not to serve (There are always exceptions) and people from the poor part tend to serve.

This is because 20 years of service can literally bump you from below the poverty line to upper middle class if you aren't a fuckup.

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MrEntrepot@reddit

The South.

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Yeahboyeah@reddit

Low paying red states. The military is viewed as an economic opportunity to get out of poverty, get an education, food, housing, medical and serve your country.

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pkondas@reddit

A good rule of thumb: if the region has no votes to elect the president, it has a higher rate of producing soldiers.

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backlikeclap@reddit

Anywhere poor. Especially the South.

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PipelinePlacementz@reddit

When I was in the Army there were tons of people from Texas, Ohio, and Florida (like an overwhelming number). Also, Pacific Islanders and Puerto Ricans have a higher likelihood of serving. There were a lot of people from California, as well, come to think of it.

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_WillCAD_@reddit

Yeah, the poor ones.

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Larnek@reddit

The south furniture. But really it's areas with high levels of poverty. Recruiting offices in poor areas crush it compared to their peers.

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Dragnil@reddit

Rural areas seem to produce more than urban areas (as a percentage). Rural America has seen a pretty dramatic drop in opportunities in the past few decades, so it's often seen as one of the few viable paths to a decent income without heading for the cities.

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ZebulonRon@reddit

Hawaii actually has the highest rate of enlistment, followed by southern states like Georgia, NC, Florida.

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Dull_Office_5295@reddit

Not sure the numbers, but I feel like Texas has that perception

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joeviper25@reddit

Nah Texans just let you know they are from Texas. Like the dumbass Texas tattoo isn’t obvious that every single one of them have. That being said every unit I have ever been in had at least one Puerto Rican and at least one Texan.

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NekoMao92@reddit

Texas also has a large military population, due to the large number of military bases.

For many families it is a tradition to serve. I know for my dad's side of the family it did skip a generation. Though not for lack of trying on my part, but when you have a medical condition that is non-waivable that is documented with military doctors it is a major roadblock. AFAIK none of my cousins served.

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My_Uneducated_Guess@reddit

That would be my guess, too. Or one of the other states down there, like Arkansas or something. I just picture that for them.

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GrowlingAtTheWorld@reddit

Poorer areas tend to have more people enlist.

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OceanPoet87@reddit

Not the US in a true sense but American Samoa.

Also the Compact of Free Association allows citizens of the Marshall Islands, Free States of Micronesia, and Palau to live and work in the US in exchange for allowing the US to be responsible for their defense. Micronesia sends a lot of people to the military.

Within the US the South and rural areas are more likely to have people enlist.

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wildtech@reddit

I don't know of any statistics, but knowing the region, it seems like northern New Mexico produces quite a few soldiers and Marines.

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MacNeal@reddit

There are probably a few reservations that do.

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g1rthqu4k3@reddit

Vermont is small but has usually been a state that overrepresents in the military going way back

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DuelJ@reddit

It'd be neat so see if there's an officer split aswell.

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Intrepid_Table_8593@reddit

Southeastern US and it’s not even close.

While Puerto Rico and Guam usually put up large percentages they’re not regions.

If you’re wondering the worst, it’s the northeast excluding Maine and New Hampshire.

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Dudeus-Maximus@reddit

Haven’t seen Maine mentioned yet. Very high percentage of vets. I think they place 6th.

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ButtToucherPhD@reddit

The Southern states have always been overrepresented in the military.

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manicpixidreamgirl04@reddit

The Federated States of Micronesia, which isn't even part of the US.

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Gyvon@reddit

Ohio has produced more Astronauts than any other state. They just wanted to get as far away g om Ohio as physically possible

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roastedandflipped@reddit

The islands the south and middle class. Poor and rich people dont really go in and its usually people who have other family that goes in

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Kerwynn@reddit

idk plenty of poor people join for the benefits

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roastedandflipped@reddit

Yeah they do but its a myth that they join more than middle class people

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Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit

I think like 15-20% of the military some from Texas.

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Common-Occasion-7820@reddit

American Samoa, Guam, and I think West Virginia, at least per capita.

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Muvseevum@reddit

I know there are a lot from West Virginia, which is usually attributed to the poor economic prospects and limited opportunity for social movement.

Many from the South as a whole, probably owing to the society skewing toward traditional conservatism and respect for authority. Social mobility is often a reason (probably for a great many people).

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LunaD0g273@reddit

Recruitment rates are much higher in high schools in the vicinity of major military bases like Fort Bragg and the Hampton Roads metro area. This is likely due to a combination of children of soldiers having a higher than average propensity to enlist as well as increased visibility of the military as a genuine early career option.

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SysError404@reddit

California, Texas and Virginia are the top 3 in that order currently. Together the enlisted US Military members from these states make up 49% of domestically stationed troops.

These states have historically contributed the most military personnel as well.

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blackhorse15A@reddit

Those are also very large states. They could be sending a lower than average percentage of their population to the military and still be sending more than any other state in raw numbers.

Hawaii is the state with the highest per capital service at 39 per 1,000. Followed closely by Alaska. California is 5.5 per 1,000 and Texas 5.4. NY is 2.4

I could only find specific numbers for states, but American Samoa would have to be the highest.

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SysError404@reddit

Those numbers for Alaska and Hawaii are for Active members based in those locations, not numbers for enlisted from those states.

North Carolina is near them as well as it hosts the largest military base. Virginia because that is home to the Pentagon and other military administrative and operations facilities. Alaska, has a large base, Hawaii one of our largest Naval bases due to strategic locations.

I completely agree that my numbers are not based on the percentage of population, just the flat numbers for residents that enlisted.

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TinyRandomLady@reddit

Native Americans serve at a higher rate per ethnic group than any other ethnic group.

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The12th_secret_spice@reddit

They’re usually the poor parts of the country. Some think it’s an honor to serve, others see it as their only way out of poverty.

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myname_1s_mud@reddit

When I was in, ca and texas were the top states

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pzschrek1@reddit

I was in the army once and it seemed like everybody was from Texas

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HarlequinKOTF@reddit

The territories like Guam, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico as well as the South

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OneofTheOldBreed@reddit

Deep South (yeah, what was the confederacy) but the territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa and such are the big contributors

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Current_Poster@reddit

Other people have covered the basics, but I would put it out there that part of "some states are more militarily-focused than others" isn't just because people are like that, there. (That is, someone from Georgia is no more naturally militaristic by nature than someone from, say, Nebraska).

For instance, there are decades' worth of political deals struck regarding base-closures. (NY State had about 24 of them, PA did about the same, New England as a whole lost major bases going back as far as the 90s and still ongoing. California got hit with about 42 of them over the years.)

Some areas are spared from the ax because of (for instance) central location for intake or year-round good weather. Other times a presence or lack of other industry was considered (ie, 'if you close the base, a lot of civilian jobs go with it'- not so different from arguments regarding base-closures abroad).

I only mention this because we sometimes get arguments working backwards (ie, 'these states don't have a lot of bases, etc because they're less (whatever)' rather than "the states don't have the military infrastructure they used to, so it doesn't loom so large, there")

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DooficusIdjit@reddit

Spy.

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Competitive_Box6719@reddit

The South

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MrTeeWrecks@reddit

Statistically: Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam.

Historically: Maps that show ‘rate of enlistment’ look pretty similar to ‘high poverty rate’ maps

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DjLexHenry@reddit

From my experience as an Army vet i say Texas, the Carolinas, and PR

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spooky_mountain@reddit

On a smaller scale, there is Hero Street in Silvis, IL. I don’t know the exact figures, but since the 1920s, over 100 residents of this one street had joined a branch of the US Military.

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Quirky-Invite7664@reddit

At first I read it as “religions,” rather than “regions,” and was going to point out there are a surprising number of Mormons in the military. You’d think they’d be peaceniks, but I guess not.

Sorry, this didn’t answer your question.

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Major_Spite7184@reddit

The 3 states with the largest service members have been CA, TX, VA, FL and NC for a long time. Both the presence of large bases and a strong familial marshal tradition tend to influence that number. Adjusted to service members per 1000, HI & AK punch way out of their weight class.

data & stuff

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SakaWreath@reddit

Poorer areas tend to send more people into the military.

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Apos-Tater@reddit

Because of how military recruitment works here, it tends to be the poorest, least educated areas that produce the most soldiers.

Lot of regions to choose from there.

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Dave_A480@reddit

Not at all accurate.

Troops are on average better off and better educated than their peers by age....

It tends to be the places with existing installations. The military is a family business now.

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FunImprovement166@reddit

Also the average US soldier comes from a middle class background. The idea that the military basically cajoles the poor is a myth.

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CNBGVepp@reddit

The Texas triangle, including dallas and San Antonio and Houston.

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FoolhardyBastard@reddit

Seemed like everyone I served with was from Texas or Ohio. Can’t say if they have huge populations serving, but that’s what it felt like.

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Shop-S-Marts@reddit

The poor parts

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WillitsThrockmorton@reddit

Texas, California, North Carolina, and Virginia, if we focused exclusively on them, would produce the entire yearly recruitment quota for the US Military.

The US Military (correctly IMO) thinks to do so would lead to an unhealthy military, which is why there are recruitment caps for those states requiring that we recruit in other states

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SteadfastEnd@reddit

Among the CONUS (48 contiguous United States,) Georgia has the highest per capita enlistment rate.

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Due-Use-3707@reddit

It’s purely anecdotal, but when I was in the army it seemed like every other person I met was from Texas.

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The_Bababillionaire@reddit

Based on my seven years in the Navy it's California, Texas, and New York, with places you'd expect to be low outliers like Alaska actually cropping up fairly often too. Based on recruitment metrics that should hold up. California sends the most people but Texas sends a greater percentage of their population of I'm not mistaken. New Yorkers are numerous no matter where you go it seems.

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https://usafacts.org/articles/is-military-enlistment-down/

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FunTricky903@reddit

That’s a map of where active duty members currently live, not where they were born.