ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- The economic impact of Arnold Air Force Base across the state of Tennessee was $680.2 million for the 2020 fiscal year.
Arnold AFB impacted the local areas through payroll, secondary jobs created through local spending, and other expenditures for supplies, utilities, fuel and services and the spin-off impact of those purchases.
The base employed a mixture of active-duty military personnel from the Air Force and Navy, Department of Defense civilians and contractor personnel, which totaled 1,736 personnel in fiscal year 2020. Of this personnel, 47 were active-duty military; seven Air Force Reserve and National Guard; 333 appropriated fund civilian employees, which includes general schedule, federal wage board and other military branches; 62 government non-appropriated fund employees; 31 other civilians, which includes credit union employees, Base Exchange employees and commissary tenants; and 1,256 contractor and subcontractor employees.
Additionally, using the Tennessee Valley Authority economic impact model methodology, Arnold AFB estimates that 1,198 secondary jobs were created in the local area, bringing the total jobs directly related to Arnold AFB to 2,934. Examples of these secondary jobs include those created by home construction, local supermarkets, car dealerships and department stores.
During the 2020 fiscal year, the payroll cost for Arnold AFB government and contractor personnel was $252.3 million. Arnold AFB’s direct expenditures, which include utility costs, service contracts with outside vendors and military health insurance paid to local doctors and hospitals, were $209.5 million.
The indirect spin-off impact of these direct expenditures is approximately $216.5 million.
The economic impact data and secondary employment estimates represent Arnold AFB’s economic impact during the 2020 fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020.
Arnold AFB is the headquarters for Arnold Engineering Development Complex. The mission of AEDC is to conduct developmental test and evaluation for the nation through modeling, simulation, and ground and flight tests by offering a suite of test capabilities to simulate speed, temperature, pressure and other parameters over a wide range to meet the needs of aerospace system developers.
AEDC operates the world’s largest complex of ground test facilities, with a replacement value of more than $11.9 billion.
AEDC also has operating locations at the Federal Research Center at White Oak, Maryland; Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California; Edwards Air Force Base, California; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico; Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado; and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.