A Department of Defense report has found that defense spending in fiscal year 2023 in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including DOD contract obligations, payroll spending and grant awards, totaled $609.2 billion, reflecting a $50.5 billion increase from the previous fiscal year and accounting for 2.2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
DOD said Tuesday approximately $431.4 billion, or 71 percent, of the total defense spending went to contracts for various products and services.
According to the FY 2023 Defense Spending by State report, the Pentagon’s personnel payroll accounted for $167.4 billion, or 27 percent, and grant spending accounted for $10.4 billion, or 2 percent, of the total spending.
“This report is an enabler for the Department’s state and local partners to better understand and develop civilian innovation and modernization initiatives for the continued responsiveness of the defense industrial base and supply chains to our national security needs while also ensuring local infrastructure and services can sustain our local installations and the communities that host them and our military families,” said Patrick O’Brien, director of the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation at DOD.
According to the report, Texas, Virginia and California were the top three recipients of defense contracts, personnel spending and grants in fiscal year 2023.
Texas landed the top spot with a defense spending total of $71.6 billion in FY 2023, an increase of $8.9 billion over the prior fiscal year.
When it comes to defense contract recipients, Lockheed Martin topped the list of 10 contractors with $61.4 billion, followed by RTX at $24.1 billion and General Dynamics at $22.9 billion.
Other companies that made the list are Boeing, Northrop Grumman, HII, Humana, L3Harris Technologies, BAE Systems and Cencora.
“Businesses small and large across America are the heart of our industrial might, and this report is a tremendous resource that our state and local partners can use to better understand defense spending in their areas and strengthen supply chains,â said William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and a three-time Wash100 awardee.
