The White House is planning a military parade on June 14 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It is slated to be the first major military parade in the United States since 1991, when one was held to celebrate winning the Gulf War.
Ahead of the event, here are six facts about the U.S. military, based on data from the Department of Defense’s Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) and Pew Research Center surveys.
As of the end of March, the U.S. military had 1.32 million active-duty members, according to DMDC figures. This is an increase of 1.5% over the year prior, when there were about 1.30 million. (Active-duty military are those who work for the military full time. They do not include personnel in the Reserve or National Guard.)
Nearly 450,000 active-duty military members serve in the Army, the most of any military branch. The Navy has the second-largest number of active-duty members (about 334,000), followed by the Air Force and Marine Corps. The Coast Guard and Space Force are much smaller, with fewer than 50,000 active-duty members each.
All branches of the military have gained active-duty members in the past year. The Navy has gained the most in overall numbers (about 7,300). The Space Force and the Coast Guard have grown the most in percentage terms (6.1% and 3.4%, respectively).
Active-duty military members are assigned to work in every state and internationally, according to DMDC data. A large majority (86%) are stationed domestically, while 14% are stationed internationally.
The number of active-duty military working in each state varies greatly, based partly on the locations of military bases. California has the most active-duty military, with about 157,500. Virginia and Texas also have more than 100,000.
Six states have fewer than 1,000 active-duty military, and Vermont has the fewest of all with 128.
Some branches of the military have an especially large footprint in certain states:
- Texas has about 65,400 active-duty Army members, about 16,000 more than any other state. There are five Army bases there, the second-most of any state after Virginia.
- Virginia (73,500) and California (72,500) have by far the most active-duty Navy members. No other state has even half that many, even though states like Florida, Maryland and Washington have roughly similar numbers of naval bases.
- Colorado has about 4,300 active-duty Space Force members, nearly three times more than any other state. Three of the nation’s six Space Force bases are in Colorado.
In an October 2024 survey, 79% of U.S. adults said they have confidence in the military to act in the public’s best interests. That included 30% who had a great deal of confidence and 48% who had a fair amount of confidence. (These figures do not sum to 79% due to rounding.) Another 21% of Americans had little or no confidence at all in the military.
Majorities in both parties had at least a fair amount of confidence in the military to act in the public’s best interests. But Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were somewhat more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to say this (84% vs. 75%).
In 10 Pew Research Center surveys conducted since 2016, around three-quarters of adults or more have expressed confidence in the military. Public confidence in the military has consistently exceeded confidence in several other groups, including religious leaders, journalists, business leaders and elected officials.
Most Americans (76%) say the U.S. is the world’s leading military power, according to a March 2025 Center survey. Another 14% say it’s China, and 8% say it’s Russia.
As with confidence in the military, majorities of Republicans and Democrats alike name the U.S. as the top military power. But Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to say this (80% vs. 73%).
Related: Global ratings of the American and Chinese militaries
In an April 2024 Center survey, 63% of Americans said U.S. policies should try to keep America as the world’s only military superpower. On the other hand, 33% said it would be acceptable if another country became as militarily powerful.
There were some partisan differences on this question. Republicans were much more likely to say America should try to remain the only military superpower than to say it would be acceptable if another country became as powerful as the U.S. (77% vs. 21%). Democrats were far more divided (52% vs. 45%).
When it comes to potential military threats to the U.S., 64% of Americans said in a September 2024 survey that China poses a major military threat. About as many (59%) saw Russia as a major military threat to the U.S., and 42% saw Iran as a major threat.
About seven-in-ten Americans (69%) said in the April 2024 survey that the U.S. having a strong military makes the world safer. Only 6% said a strong U.S. military makes the world less safe, while 24% said it has no impact.
On this question, too, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to express the view that a strong U.S. military makes the world safer. And older adults were much more likely than younger adults to say this. For example, 87% of Americans ages 65 and older said this, compared with 54% of those ages 18 to 34. These age differences appeared in both political parties.
