America's 7 Largest Air Force Bases, Ranked By Total Population

The U.S. military has hundreds of military installations around the world, including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps installations that project American military power. The Air Force, on its own, has dozens of domestic facilities under its command (nothing compared to how many bases it has internationally), which include a number of joint bases that the service shares with other military branches and Department of Defense units. Every Air Force base serves not just those on campus, but those in the immediate vicinity, as well. It's truly a community. In some respects, bases in the continental U.S. also serve Air Force personnel worldwide, regardless of each base's mission.

As the U.S. Air Force says, "The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win — airpower anytime, anywhere. Whether full time, part time, in or out of uniform, everyone who serves plays a critical role in helping us achieve mission success." For the purposes of this article, the number of retirees was excluded from the population count because they most likely live off base or don't visit the base regularly.

In 2009, as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure process, the Department of Defense combined McGuire AFB, Fort Dix Army Base, and Lakehurst Naval Air Station to create Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst — that's a mouthful. It is also the only tri-service joint base under the Department of Defense. As you might imagine, a single base that used to be multiple separate bases accounts for a large population, and JB MDL is no exception, as it has over 42,000 active duty personnel, civilians (federal officers from different agencies and contractors), and family members.

The 87th Air Base Wing assumed command of JB MDL after the three bases were combined and, on top of keeping the base running, it "provides mission-ready, expeditionary Airmen to support Unified Combatant Commanders in on-going military operations," per the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst website. The 87th is just one unit operating in the base's 3,900 facilities. It has over 80 mission partners from multiple military branches, including the Navy, Army, and Marine Corps.

It's not the myth-filled Area 51, but it's not too far away from the legendary facility. Nellis Air Force Base covers 14,000 acres of land within a 5,000-square-mile area in the middle of the Nevada desert, a mere 8 miles north of Las Vegas. In a way, Nellis serves as the Air Force's own TOPGUN, as it's home of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, affectionately known as the "Home of the Fighter Pilot." When you have 7,700 miles of airspace to the north and east of the base reserved strictly for military training, it's hard not to be the place for the best of the best fighter pilots to train.

The area around Nellis AFB hosts a military population of approximately 46,500. Of those, 11,628 are military personnel, and 3,286 are civilians — some of whom are contractors and federal agents. There are also an average of 1,200 temporary duty personnel every day, along with 8,000 official visitors each year. As far as bases go, there are worse places for Airmen to be stationed.

It might be called a joint base, but Fort Eustis and Langley Air Force Base are separated by 17 miles of interstate. Langley AFB is home to a variety of units, including the 633rd Air Base Wing, Air Combat Command, the 1st Fighter Wing, the 192nd Wing, and many others. The base as a whole, including the Fort Eustis portion, serves approximately 106,546 individuals in the area, including active duty, National Guard, reserve, family members, contractors, civilians, and retirees, but without retirees, that number drops to approximately 50,500. 

That breaks down to approximately 15,000 active duty personnel, 2,100 guard and reservists, 5,000 contractors, 1,190 civilians, 27,256 family members, and about 12,000 students who visit yearly. The AFB is also home to a 10,000-foot runway, where onlookers can commonly catch sight of the rather costly F-22 Raptor, as it's operated and maintained by the 1st Fighter Wing in Langley.

The Air Force has roots in Charleston as far back as 1931, when it was the Charleston Army Air Field. It officially became an Air Force base in 1953 and now hosts 67 mission partners and other organizations, including every branch of the military and 60 Department of Defense and federal agencies. The base serves just under 60,000 active individuals (59,549), which breaks down to 11,042 active-duty warfighters, 3,286 reservists, 5,259 government employees, 4,945 contractors, and 35,017 family members. According to Military OneSource, about "20% of all jobs in the Charleston Metropolitan area are tied to Joint Base Charleston."

The base hosts the 628th Air Base Wing, which services the installations, and there is a significant naval presence, as well, since the Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek, South Carolina, was absorbed by Charleston AFB after the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure commission. In that respect, the 628th works with the Naval Support Activity to operate the facility. Charleston is a major base of operations for the storage and transportation of armored vehicles and other military supplies, as well as the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command and Nuclear Power Training Unit. 

One thing you'll notice about the population of these military bases is that the joint bases have the highest numbers. This is probably because of multiple branches utilizing the base for their individual missions. Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington (more commonly referred to as Joint Base Andrews) is the result of Andrews Air Force Base and Naval Air Facility Washington merging in 2009. The 316th Wing of the Air Force operates from Joint Base Andrews. This massive base has a population of around 60,000 individuals, which includes members from the Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and the United States Navy.

Being near the country's capital, Joint Base Andrews plays a pivotal role in America's defense and has earned the moniker "America's Airfield." That's in no small part because Andrews is where the Air Force houses Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, which is maintained by the 89th Airlift Wing — also known as "The President's Wing." This wing "provides global Special Air Mission airlift, logistics, aerial port, and communications for the President, Vice President, cabinet members and senior leaders to ensure nuclear command, control and communications, continuity of government and continuity of operations," per Joint Base Andrews.

MacDill Air Force Base is located 8 miles south of Tampa, Florida, and is a station of the Air Mobility Command. This is the group that trains to refuel American aircraft while in the air and provide air support to allies anywhere in the world using 24 KC Stratotankers. As of 2025, the 6th Air Refueling Wing was switching over to the KC-46 Pegasus, though. MacDill is the home of the U.S. Central Command as well as Special Operations Command – the guys who oversee the Air Force special ops that seize airfields.

Between the Air Force's flying wings, joint commands, and 33 mission partners that operate on the base, MacDill AFB serves 19,900 active duty personnel, 7,000 civilians, and 34,600 family members, totaling a population of 61,500. About 3,122 individuals make up the 6th Air Refueling Wing, the host wing of the base and unit trained to deploy at a moment's notice for refueling missions.

In 2005, a Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendation resulted in the formation of Joint Base San Antonio, which technically has 11 operating locations throughout San Antonio and is home to 266 mission partners. The Air Force's 502 Air Base Wing oversees JBSA, with its primary facilities including Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, and Randolph Air Force Base. Collectively, JBSA services roughly 80,000 active duty personnel, but with 266 mission partners, the population doesn't stop there.

There are also around 80,000 active duty military personnel, 8,871 Air National Guard personnel and reservists, 18,747 students, and about 35,000 contractors from various agencies. All of that adds up to approximately 145,000 individuals. Every branch of the military is represented at JBSA along with members of various government agencies. Lackland Air Force Base is the location for USAF basic training, where every fresh recruit, including those in the Air National Guard and Reserves, report to become Airmen.