AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. military means more than power. It means money.
Military spending contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, and nowhere is that spending felt more than in American communities that host military bases. Some of these communities are booming—enjoying growth in population, per-capita personal income and gross domestic product, or GDP, a key indicator of an area's economic health.
In honor of Veterans Day, SpareFoot presents America's Top 10 Military Boom Towns. These are metro areas that, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, are growing the most in these three measures and have a substantial military presence. They aren't necessarily the largest military towns, but they are the fastest-growing. All figures for personal income and GDP have been adjusted for inflation.
Here is SpareFoot's list of America's Top 10 Military Boom Towns (in descending order), based on data from 2009 to 2011. The data is weighted as follows: 40% for per-capita military GDP, 30% for per-capita non-military GDP, 15% for population growth and 15% for per-capita personal income.
| 1. Elizabethtown, KY |
| Military installation in the area: Fort Knox |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 17.00% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 6.33% |
| Average annual population growth: 2.74% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 3.51% |
| 2. El Paso, TX |
| Military installations in the area: Fort Bliss and William Beaumont Army Medical Center |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 14.98% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 0.76% |
| Average annual population growth: 2.14% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 1.94% |
| 3. Hinesville, GA |
| Military installations in the area: Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 8.91% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 4.57% |
| Average annual population growth: -0.07% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 0.80% |
| 4. Colorado Springs, CO |
| Military installations in the area: U.S. Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Station and Fort Carson |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 7.86% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 0.37% |
| Average annual population growth: 2.30% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 1.56% |
| 5. Clarksville, TN |
| Military installation in the area: Fort Campbell |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 4.61% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 3.78% |
| Average annual population growth: 1.46% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 2.77% |
| 6. San Angelo, TX |
| Military installation in the area: Goodfellow Air Force Base |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 5.96% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 1.10% |
| Average annual population growth: 1.34% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 2.47% |
| 7. Sumter, SC |
| Military installation in the area: Shaw Air Force Base |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 7.03% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 1.20% |
| Average annual population growth: 0.21% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: -0.34% |
| 8. Columbus, GA |
| Military installation in the area: Fort Benning |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 4.07% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 0.00% |
| Average annual population growth: 1.44% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 2.10% |
| 9. Rapid City, SD |
| Military installations in the area: Ellsworth Air Force Base and National Guard Camp Rapid |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 2.55% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 1.08% |
| Average annual population growth: 1.27% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 3.69% |
| 10. Hanford-Corcoran, CA |
| Military installation in the area: Naval Air Station Lemoore |
| Average annual growth in per-capita military GDP: 1.04% |
| Average annual growth in per-capita non-military GDP: 1.79% |
| Average annual population growth: 0.49% |
| Average annual per-capita income growth: 6.48% |
For more details about America's Top 10 Military Boom Towns, visit http://blog.sparefoot.com/4558-military-boom-towns.
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