Western Washington's surrounding beauty and fascination with coffee and things high tech belies the fact the area is also home to one of America's heaviest military concentrations. The mix of air, land and sea forces here makes Washington a critical component of the nation's defense. It also means steady jobs, injecting $6 billion in payroll and contracts into the state economy last year. The military employs 83,000 active-duty and civilian personnel, more than Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser. Only state government employs more. Chris Johnson, an economist with Washington Employment Security Department, estimates the military's presence indirectly creates another 83,000 civilian jobs in service and other industries.

For information on the state's military installations, click the numbers on the map.

Sources: U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard

Research by CHRISTINE CLARRIDGE, RAY RIVERA AND VINCE KUETER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Graphics by MARK NOWLIN AND WHITNEY STENSRUD / THE SEATTLE TIMES