As of March 2025, the US military consisted of 2.86 million people worldwide. Data from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) indicates that, in 2024, the US has the world’s third-largest active military by size, surpassed by Chine and India, respectively.
These forces are spread across six main service branches the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force – all tasked to protect and service the US.
How many people are in the military?
The military includes 2,075,619 military personnel and 788,470 civilians as of March 2025. The US military's total strength of 2.86 million troops is slightly greater than the population of Chicago, Illinois, the country's third-largest city.
Of those military members, the Department of Defense (DoD) listed nearly 1.31 million people as active-duty troops, and 765,495 as national guard/reserves.
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As of March 2025, reported active-duty troops included:
- 445,475 in the Army
- 330,011 in the Navy
- 313,615 in the Air Force
- 168,298 in the Marine Corps
- 9,671 in the Space Force
- 40,590 in the Coast Guard
Active-duty military figures have fallen 48.5% from their peak during the Vietnam War in 1968, leveling off until troop size dropped again in 1991 following the end of the Cold War.
Since then, troop levels have remained relatively stable, even during US conflicts in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.
What are the military’s demographics?
In December of 2024, Military OneSource — a DoD military website providing resources on active-duty, National Guard, and Reserve service members — released an annual report on the US military outlining the demographics of each service branch by race, ethnicity, gender, and age, among other factors.
Representation of racial minorities varies across service branch, with most branches having equal or higher representation when compared to the overall population.
Racial and ethnic breakdown
In the Army, 21% of the soldiers are Black or African American, totaling 95,149 troops.
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders are most represented in the Air Force, while American Indian or Alaska Native are most likely to be in the Navy.
The Space Force was the only branch with a higher proportion of Asian Americans than the US population.
From 2010 to 2023, the percentage of racial diversity by branch increased in the Army (2.9 percentage points) and the Air Force (4.2 percentage points), but decreased in the Navy (-0.5 percentage points) and Marine Corps (-1.3 percentage points).
The Marine Corps stands out as the branch with the highest percentage of Hispanic or Latino members compared to the US population. The other branches have slightly lower proportions of Hispanic or Latino service members, ranging from 1-5% below the national average.
How many women are in the military?
As of 2023, women made up an average of 17.7% of all active-duty military personnel, totaling 225,119 members. Female military representation increased 0.2% percentage points over last year.
The percentage of women actively serving in all military branches has risen from 14.6% in 2005 to 17.7% by 2022 — an overall increase of 3 percentage points.
What's the average age of a US soldier?
In 2023, the average age of an active-duty military member across all branches was 28.5 years old. By branch, the youngest to oldest average ages were:
- Marine Corps (25.2 years)
- Army (29.1 years)
- Navy (29.1 years)
- Air Force (29.3 years)
- Space Force (31.4 years)
Age representation in the military has changed over time. Military members ages 26 to 40 are increasing, while numbers for those younger than 25 and older than 41 are on the decline.
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