ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- Arnold Air Force Base had an economic impact of $1.2 billion in the 2025 fiscal year.
Arnold AFB impacted the local area through payroll, secondary jobs created through local spending, and other expenditures for supplies, utilities, professional and technical services, and the spin-off impact of those purchases.
Arnold AFB employed a mixture of military personnel from the Air Force, Department of War civilians and contractors totaling 2,849 personnel in fiscal year 2025, which ran from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025. Of these personnel, 48 were active-duty military; seven Air Force Reserve and National Guard; 411 appropriated fund civilian employees, which includes commissary tenants, general schedule and other military branches; 16 government non-appropriated fund employees paid with appropriated funds; and 2,367 contractor and subcontractor employees.
Additionally, using the Air Force Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cost and Economics (SAF/FMC) economic impact analysis tool, it is estimated that 4,005 secondary jobs were created in the local area around Arnold AFB, bringing the total jobs related to its operation to 6,854. Examples of these secondary jobs include those created by home construction, local supermarkets, car dealerships and department stores.
During the 2025 fiscal year, the payroll cost for government and contractor personnel at Arnold AFB was $390.7 million. Direct expenditures at Arnold, which include utility costs, service contracts with outside vendors and military health insurance paid to local doctors and hospitals, were $336.9 million.
The indirect spin-off impact of these direct expenditures is approximately $505.5 million.
The economic impact data and secondary employment estimates represent the economic impact of Arnold AFB during the 2025 fiscal year.
The mission of Arnold Engineering Development Complex, headquartered at Arnold AFB, is to provide world-class test expertise and environments, enabling early solutions that accelerate war-winning capabilities.
AEDC, which operates the world’s largest complex of ground test facilities, also has operating locations at AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9, Maryland; National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex at Moffett Field, California; Edwards Air Force Base, California; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico; White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado; and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.