The annual base economic impact analysis for fiscal year 2021 was presented on Thursday by Maj. Andrew Webb, commander of the base’s 5th Bomb Wing Comptroller Squadron, at the Minot Area Chamber EDC’s Military Affairs Committee meeting in the Sleep Inn & Suites, Minot.

The 2021 fiscal year economic impact is slightly lower than in fiscal year 2020, when the base contributed $622.3 million to the local area.

Yearly construction, services and other expenditures were down $11.2 million in fiscal year 2021 compared to fiscal year 2020 expenditures.

Yearly payroll also was down slightly from $419.6 million in fiscal year 2020 to $412.9 in fiscal year 2021. Webb said much of the decline in the yearly payroll was tied to the ability to fill positions but he said the positions have not been cut.

Senior Airman Lincoln Manor, 91st Missile Support Operations Squadron Tactics Response Force trainer, prepares for the Global Strike Challenge at Minot Air Force Base held this past August. The base’s annual payroll for appropriated fund military in fiscal year 2021 was more than $341 million, according to the economic impact analysis. Photo by Airman Dillon J. Audit.

Minot AFB is home to the 5th Bomb Wing with its B-52 bombers and 91st Missile Wing overseeing Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in the Minot missile field in northwest and north central North Dakota.

The annual detailed report is prepared each year to inform community leaders and others of the economic impact the base has on the local region’s economy.

As of Sept. 30, 2021, Minot AFB had 5,707 military members (5,683 active-duty members and 24 Air Force Reservists) assigned to the base. Accompanying family members totaled 5,644.

Combining military members, military family members and civilian employees, the base had a total population of 12,346 people influencing the economic numbers.

The annual expenses for construction, services, and appropriation of materials, equipment and supplies totaled more than $85 million.

A B-52 Stratofortress taxis the runway as it returns to Minot Air Force Base from Qatar this past September. The base’s 5th Bomb Wing has the B-52s and the 91st Missile Wing oversees Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in the Minot missile field. Photo by Airman 1st Class Saomy Sabournin.

The value of indirect jobs created totaled more than $109 million, with an estimated number of 2,079 indirect jobs created at an average annual pay of $52,484 for the local community, according to the analysis.

The indirect jobs show how the base money ripples through the local economy.

The Minot area also has 1,468 military retirees (Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps) with a gross payroll of more than $34 million. These dollars also contribute to the economy of the local area.

Many people pass through the Magic City Gate at Minot Air Force Base each day. The base has a total population of more than 12,000 people, including military members and their family members plus civilians who work on base.