An Analysis of the Economic Impact of the state’s seventeen military facilities, released today, cites a $6.6 billion economic impact on the state’s economy from NAS Patuxent River. The base also creates or supports 41,185 jobs earning an estimated $2.4 billion in employee compensation.
NAS Patuxent River is ranked second among the 17 military facilities in Maryland for economic impact in the state; the total $6.6 billion in economic activity is three times the estimated economic impact cited in a 2002 study commissioned by the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, confirming the continued growth at this base.
The 2010 study confirms the statewide economic impact of this military installation. This one base represents 18 percent of the economic impact of all military facilities in Maryland.
“This study confirms the vital importance of NAS Patuxent River to our country, the State of Maryland and our county,” said Francis Jack Russell, president, Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County. “We work closely with the United States Navy to ensure that St. Mary’s County remains the right location for this strategic military installation.”
The Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County meets with the leadership at NAS Patuxent River twice a year to discuss issues of mutual concern and encroachment mitigation. A formal Memorandum of Understanding was signed in April 2007 to fully commit the county to maintain local policies and actions that will maintain world class Department of Defense facilities and airspace free from encroachment at the Navy’s Patuxent River complex.
The study, commissioned by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) and the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR), was executed by the Jacob France Institute of the Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore (JFI).
All of the data in this analysis were for Federal Fiscal Year 2008. The findings of this analysis are as follows:
· The seventeen facilities analyzed directly employ 118,022 workers, 90% of whom live in Maryland. These 118,022 workers accounted for 3.4% of total employment in Maryland;
· Total military facility employment of 118,022 includes 5,041 Maryland National Guard soldiers. Since serving in the Maryland National Guard is not a full time job and in order to avoid double counting, job impacts have been reduced by these 5,041 Maryland National Guard soldiers to 112,981 for the purposes of the economic impact analysis. In describing the economic impacts of military facilities in Maryland, the total employment figure of 112,981 will be used. These 112,981 jobs account for 3.3% of total employment in Maryland;
· The seventeen facilities analyzed pay $9.0 billion in in-State payrolls and purchase $7.1 billion in goods and services from Maryland companies. These installations attract thousands of visitors into Maryland – who spend more than $41.3 million[i];
· When multiplier impacts are included, the seventeen facilities analyzed generate a total of $35.7 billion in economic activity in Maryland and created or supported 268,029 jobs earning an estimated $17.1 billion in employee compensation;
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