The Military and Defense Industry in Jacksonville

Duval County counted 5,910 federal civilian jobs in national security in 2025, at six establishments and an average annual pay of $92,430, in the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage census (BLS QCEW, Duval County 2025).

That national security line (NAICS 928110) lost 323 jobs, or 5.2 percent, from 2024. The county's federal government total was 17,898 jobs at 102 establishments, averaging $84,709, down 204 jobs over the same year (QCEW). For comparison, all private employers in Duval County averaged $75,204 across 508,794 jobs (QCEW).

These are civilian counts only. QCEW excludes members of the armed forces from its federal employment figures, and it also leaves out certain national security agencies for security reasons (BLS QCEW Overview), so uniformed service members at the Jacksonville bases are not in the 5,910.

Source for every row: BLS QCEW 2025 annual averages, Duval County. The private codes are industry totals for all customers, not defense-only counts.

Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, at 101 Wasp St. in Jacksonville, describes itself as the largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia, employing about 5,000 civilian, military and contract workers (NAVAIR, Fleet Readiness Center Southeast).

The depot reports annual revenue exceeding $1 billion (NAVAIR). The Jacksonville depot's 5,000 figure mixes civilians, military personnel and contractors, so it measures a different group from the QCEW civilian count above and should not be added to it.

The depot is one of the major tenants of NAS Jacksonville, alongside Commander, Navy Region Southeast, Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast and Fleet Logistics Center Jacksonville, with some 120-plus other tenant activities on the station (Navy Region Southeast, NAS Jacksonville). The air station hosts seven active P-8A/P-3C squadrons, three reserve squadrons and five helicopter squadrons, and Navy Region Southeast puts its economic impact in excess of $2 billion annually (NAS Jacksonville).

In the private QCEW code for other support activities for air transportation, Duval County added 164 jobs, or 10.6 percent, to reach 1,710 jobs at an average of $89,553 in 2025 (BLS QCEW).

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing counted 34 establishments and 1,684 jobs in Duval County in 2025, paying an average of $105,039 (BLS QCEW).

Within that Duval County group, aircraft manufacturing (NAICS 336411) counted 11 establishments, 475 jobs and average pay of $117,674, and other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing (336413) counted 11 establishments, 471 jobs and $78,678 (QCEW). The aerospace group as a whole added 51 jobs, or 3.1 percent, in the year (QCEW).

Naval Station Mayport is home to more than 80 supported commands, including 20 naval ships and three helicopter squadrons, and its harbor can accommodate 34 ships (Navy Region Southeast, Naval Station Mayport). Duval County's ship building and repairing trade had 26 establishments and 1,211 jobs at an average of $88,447 in 2025 (QCEW); the Jacksonville maritime and shipping industry guide breaks that trade down alongside port and pilot jobs.

Private engineering services in Duval County held 4,246 jobs at 295 establishments with average pay of $114,048, down 155 jobs from 2024 (QCEW).

The City of Jacksonville lists $1.8 billion of direct defense procurement spending in Duval County, citing the Florida Military and Defense Economic Impact Summary of January 2024 (City of Jacksonville, Military Presence).

The same city table lists compensation of $2.9 billion and pensions and transfers of $1.8 billion as separate lines, for $6.5 billion of direct defense spending in all (Military Presence), and the Jacksonville military guide reproduces the full Duval County impact table. The city figures come from a summary dated January 2024, while the QCEW job counts on this page are 2025 annual averages, so the two describe different years.

For how Jacksonville compares with Florida as a whole, the statewide Florida defense industry guide covers Department of Defense spending and contractor employment across all counties.

The City of Jacksonville received $500,000 Florida Defense Support Commission grants in FY 2021-2022, FY 2022-2023 and FY 2023-2024 to protect land around its Navy bases (FloridaCommerce, Florida Defense Support Commission grant recipients).

FloridaCommerce lists each award to the Military Affairs and Veterans Department for encroachment protection and compatible land use around Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport and Outlying Field Whitehouse, and shows a $322,500 award to the department for the same purpose in FY 2019-2020 (FloridaCommerce).

The Florida Defense Support Task Force is now referred to as the Florida Defense Support Commission, the Legislature appropriated $2 million a year to the Task Force in FY 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, and Task Force staff reported $3,963,359 in payments to 15 entities for 16 grants statewide over those three years, according to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR, Defense Incentives and Industry review).

In FY 2022-2023 the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce also received $56,000 for federal advocacy for more littoral combat ships, guided missile destroyers and guided missile frigates at Naval Station Mayport, out of a listed total of $1,092,810 that year; the FY 2023-2024 total was $2,262,600 (FloridaCommerce).

The EDR review says the 1993 base closure round led to the loss of four Florida bases, including Cecil Field in Jacksonville, and calls that loss the impetus behind the Military Base Protection Program; in 2004 the Legislature created the Defense Infrastructure Grant Program for local infrastructure projects with a positive impact on the military value of installations (EDR).

Cecil Commerce Center covers 17,000 acres, more than three percent of Duval County's land area, and is home to the third-longest runway in Florida; in 2010 City Council approved a 25-year agreement naming Hillwood master developer of about 4,475 acres of city-owned property there (City of Jacksonville, Cecil Commerce Center). The Cecil Spaceport guide covers the airport side of the site.

The City of Jacksonville Military Affairs and Veterans Department, at City Hall, 117 West Duval Street, Suite 175, phone (904) 255-5550, lists career and employment services covering job placement, resume support and career counseling (City of Jacksonville, Military Affairs and Veterans Department).

Its Jobs for Veterans program lists career fairs, Northeast Florida job openings, employer assistance with a Military 101 briefing, and a section on moving from military to civilian life (MAVD). The department's director serves as the city's military liaison to all military commands in Duval County and as strategic advisor to the mayor on military matters (MAVD).

Last verified: October 19, 2026, by re-reading the Duval County 2025 QCEW rows for national security, aerospace, ship repair and engineering, the BLS exclusions note, the NAVAIR depot page, both Navy Region Southeast base pages, the FloridaCommerce grant recipient list, the EDR defense review and three City of Jacksonville pages.