The following information was created using information from the Department of Defense's Fiscal Year 2008 Atlas and the United States Census Bureau.

• As the preceding graph shows, three states clearly lead in Department of Defense (DoD) investment. Traditionally Virginia has been a close second to California, but in fiscal year 2008 Texas took a commanding lead, largely due to increased contracts and construction.

• Per capita spending tells a different story. Texas and California's larger population means that defense spending per person is much greater in Virginia, at about $7,000 per person.

• Virginia receives the most DoD payroll expenditures of all the states. The Commonwealth has the highest number of DoD civilian employees in the nation.
• Texas receives more money through contracts alone than any other state - aside from Virginia - receives total from the DoD.
• Again it's clear that Texas, Virginia and California are in far ahead of other states in expenditures.
  

• A closer look at the trend in DoD spending shows that the top three states have all seen significant growth in contract expenditures over the past five years, while payroll has been relatively consistent.

• Virginia leads handily in DoD civilian employment, with 12.7 percent of the national total.
• California and Texas both have more active duty servicemembers.
• NOTE: The DoD changed the way that numbers were reported starting in 2007. Afloat personnel are no longer counted in active duty numbers, skewing figures for states that have a large number of ships, particularly Virginia, California and Hawaii.
  
  VNDIA estimates that an additional 40,000 to 45,000 sailors are assigned to ships home-ported in Hampton Roads but not reflected in the 2008 DoD numbers shown here.
  

• This chart shows the difference in reporting done by the DoD. Civilian employment has stayed consistent for more than decade, while military personnel show fluctuations since 2004 related to reporting standards.

• Even with the afloat personnel not in the numbers, the Department of the Navy (to include the Marine Corps) is still the primary DoD employer in the Commonwealth.

• Using DoD reporting and our own research, VNDIA has constructed a breakdown of DoD employment by region in the Commonwealth.