An annual report on the military's impact on San Diego's economy shows defense spending, as a percentage of the region's economy, grew in 2023 despite a slight dip in overall jobs.
Researchers from the San Diego Military Advisory Council (SDMAC) and UC San Diego's Rady School of Management measured the local effect of government spending on active duty military members, defense contracts and Veterans Affairs. The Pentagon and VA spending pump $56.4 billion into the San Diego economy, according to this year's Military Impact Report.
That's 23.6% of San Diego's gross regional product.
Mark Balmert, the chief executive officer of the San Diego Military Advisory Council, said the defense industry continues to help drive local economic growth. He added that the report is key in educating the public.
"We want people to understand that there’s a lot of good that comes from being a military town," Balmert said at a news conference Wednesday.
The report's data is important for local and state lawmakers, said California State Sen. Toni Atkins, (D-San Diego). In comments at the report's release Wednesday at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Atkins said it also shows how defense spending stabilizes the economy.
"Especially in a year like this when California’s resources are a little more limited, our region significantly benefits from the military’s economic contributions to San Diego and I would say the entire state," Atkins said.
The report states that there are more than 111,000 active duty service members in San Diego County, accounting for just under a third of total military-related jobs in San Diego.
More than 200,000 local jobs are the result of military contracts, according to the report. In total, more than 350,000 local jobs are the result of the military after further accounting for other jobs, such as civilians employed by the Defense Department and the VA.
There's a slight decrease in contracts and related jobs from last year, the report found, citing the end of pandemic-related emergency procurement contracts.
Researchers found a 0.5% decline in total defense jobs since 2022. Despite those losses, total spending was still up.
