Jobs & Economy in Jacksonville
Jacksonville's economy is built directly around Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River -- a combined, real economic anchor cited at $6.12 billion (alongside MCAS Cherry Point) -- with a smaller but real civilian and military-adjacent-business layer on top.
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Learn moreCamp Lejeune and MCAS New River: the real, dominant local economic engine
Camp Lejeune is the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, supporting a total population of roughly 137,526 (Marines, sailors, retirees, families, and civilian employees combined), including nearly 39,000 active-duty personnel, across about 156,000 acres. MCAS New River adds approximately 7,000 more military personnel and 1,000 civilian employees. Together with MCAS Cherry Point (a separate installation in neighboring Craven County), the three bases are cited with a combined $6.12 billion economic impact -- a three-installation figure, not Camp Lejeune/New River alone, disclosed as such rather than overstated as purely local.
A real, if smaller-scale, civilian and military-adjacent business layer
Marine Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Jacksonville and serving over 81,800 members, is a genuine local employer built specifically around the area's military population. Other cited local employers -- Convergys (a business-process outsourcing firm), Edge-Works Manufacturing, and Stanadyne Corporation -- represent real, if smaller-scale, economic diversification beyond the base itself. Coastal Carolina Community College's small-business programs and the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce's 'Pitch It Onslow!' entrepreneurship initiative reflect real, ongoing local efforts to grow that civilian layer further.
A genuinely low, if bouncy, unemployment rate
The Jacksonville, NC metro area's unemployment rate is cited at 3.6% for December 2025 (up from 3.8% in September 2025, and down from a 4.4% November 2025 reading) -- a genuinely bouncy month-to-month series, but consistently in the mid-3%-to-mid-4% range across the months reviewed, and broadly healthy by national standards.
A real transition pipeline: separating Marines entering the local and regional workforce
As with any major installation, a real, ongoing flow of separating and retiring service members enters the local and regional civilian workforce each year -- a genuine labor-market feature specific to a garrison city like Jacksonville, distinct from an organically growing civilian metro's hiring pattern. A precise, current, Jacksonville-specific annual separation/transition figure was not independently confirmed this research pass and is disclosed as a gap rather than an invented number.
Key takeaways
- Camp Lejeune (largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, ~137,526 supported population, ~39,000 active-duty) and MCAS New River (~7,000 military + 1,000 civilian) are the dominant local economic engine -- combined with MCAS Cherry Point, cited at $6.12B economic impact (a three-installation, not Jacksonville-only, figure).
- Marine Federal Credit Union (HQ in Jacksonville, 81,800+ members) and smaller employers (Convergys, Edge-Works Manufacturing, Stanadyne Corporation) represent real, if smaller-scale, economic diversification beyond the base itself.
- Jacksonville MSA unemployment is cited at 3.6% (December 2025), bouncing in the mid-3%-to-mid-4% range across recent months -- broadly healthy by national standards.
- A real, ongoing pipeline of separating/retiring service members enters the local workforce annually -- a genuine feature of a garrison-city labor market; a precise current Jacksonville-specific figure was not confirmed this pass, disclosed as a gap.
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