Executive Summary

The U.S. is undergoing a major industrial revival, shifting power from "superstar cities" to regions with strong manufacturing bases. Driven by the need to remilitarize, reshore, and decarbonize, this transition has resulted in over $1.4 trillion in public and private investments in sectors like clean energy, semiconductors, and electric vehicles (EVs) as of September 2024. While these civilian investments are routinely mapped, the spatial geography of defense manufacturing is rarely assessed. Like civilian investments, defense megaprojects reshape local economies, creating new workforce needs and supply chains. Cities that strategically leverage defense spending can move up the value chain, becoming hubs for innovation and production. To fully grasp this industrial shift, it’s important to analyze both defense and civilian investments

In light of this, our analysis focuses on the distribution of high-value Department of Defense (DoD) contracts across U.S. metropolitan areas. We examined contracts exceeding $500 million, along with modifications that increased their value above this threshold between 2021 and 2024.

Interactive Tool Overview

The result of this analysis is presented in an interactive tool. It consists of two parts: one maps total defense funding by MSA, showing rankings and detailed spending when a specific MSA is selected. The other part focuses on individual contracts, mapping where they are performed. Selecting a specific contract reveals additional details such as the recipient, purpose, amount, and awarding subagency. This tool allows users to directly engage with the data, providing deeper insights into high-value DoD manufacturing contracts across the country.

Interactive Tool Depicting the Geographic Distribution of High-Value DoD Contracts and the Top Metros by Spending

Key Findings

• Defense Manufacturing is Highly Concentrated in Select Metros: Our analysis reveals $340 billion spread across 192 awards, 39 vendors, and 41 metropolitan areas, demonstrating the economic and strategic impacts of defense spending on local economies. Defense manufacturing investments are heavily concentrated in a few metros, with Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, New York-Newark-Jersey City, and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue emerging as major hubs.

• A Few Major Defense Contractors Dominate Large Contracts: A small number of contractors dominate the defense manufacturing landscape, with 39 vendors securing the bulk of high-value contracts. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Pfizer together secured over 35% of these contracts.

• Major Defense Metros Continue to Dominate with Next Tier of Contracts: By expanding the analysis to include contracts over $250 million, the number of total contracts increased from 192 to 383, with 59 MSAs now represented. Despite this broader scope, most of the top 15 MSAs remained unchanged, underscoring the dominance of key metros.

• Large Defense Contracts Cut Across All the Armed Services: A significant portion of DoD contracts supports U.S. air, land, and naval capabilities, with major defense contractors driving advancements in missile systems, aircraft, and shipbuilding

• Some Defense Contracts Address Public Health Initiatives: The DoD also plays a vital role in addressing national health security, with contracts directed at COVID-19 vaccine production, highlighting its expanded role beyond traditional military production.

The reshaping of America's industrial landscape through significant DoD investments represents both a challenge and an opportunity for metropolitan areas. Cities that are part of the defense industrial base stand to reap substantial benefits, including job creation and economic growth. However, realizing these benefits requires careful planning and collaboration between industry, local governments, and educational institutions to support workforce development, supply chains, and infrastructure upgrades.