FOR DRUM, New York (WWNY) – Fort Drum continues to be among the major players in the north country economy.
Fort Drum officials say the post’s direct economic impact was more than $1.5 billion in 2021, a 4.6% increase over the year before.
Advocate Drum – also known as the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization – has numbers that include the post’s indirect impact.
That totals $1.96 billion, which Advocate Drum says is 7 percent higher than 2020.
Direct spending includes what the post spends on goods and services, plus payroll for its 15,656 military personnel and 3,912 civilian workers. That makes Fort Drum the largest single-site employer in the region.
Indirect spending includes 6,340 jobs Advocate Drum calculates were created by the post’s direct spending. That number increased by a little under 300 from the year before.
Advocate Drum reports that there were 658 more military personnel in 2021 than in 2020. The number of civilian workers remained the same.
In all, the post supports some 35,000 soldiers, family members, and civilian employees that live and work there.
Fort Drum also spends money to support the region’s veterans and their survivors. That number decreased from 2,663 in 2020 to 2,639 in 2021.
Officials also note that area school districts received about $33.7 million in federal aid to help pay for education students affiliated with Fort Drum.
You can find Fort Drum’s economic impact statement here. Advocate Drum’s is below.
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