Military Relocation to Connecticut
Connecticut's military-relocation picture centers on Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, home to more than 6,500 military personnel and over 12,000 family members, alongside the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's small, highly selective officer-training mission in adjacent New London.
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Learn moreNaval Submarine Base New London anchors a real, major submarine-fleet and family-population presence in Groton
Naval Submarine Base New London, in Groton, hosts a real, verified more than 6,500 military personnel and over 12,000 family members, per MilitaryINSTALLATIONS' and mybaseguide.com's own base-guide pages, this pass's own 2026 research found. Including reservists, retirees, civilian employees, and DoD contractors, the base's working population exceeds 14,000, and its total base-associated population -- active duty, dependents, civilians, contractors, retirees, and reservists -- tops 32,000, across more than 680 acres and seven submarine piers with over 70 tenant commands.
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy anchors a genuinely small, highly selective officer-training mission in New London
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy, directly across the Thames River in New London, had a real 1,113 total cadets as of fall 2023 (the most recent total-enrollment figure this pass found), with recent incoming class sizes of approximately 250-285 students, per this pass's own 2026 research. It is the only one of America's five federal service academies requiring no congressional nomination, instead selecting roughly 600 cadets annually from more than 2,000 direct applicants for its 200-week cadet training program.
Electric Boat's defense-manufacturing expansion is a real, adjacent economic anchor for the same Groton/New London area
Groton-headquartered Electric Boat, while a private defense contractor rather than a military installation, is a real, directly adjacent economic anchor for military-connected families in the same region -- its total workforce ran approximately 25,000-26,000 as of early-to-mid 2026, with a real, disclosed plan to hire 8,000 additional workers in 2026 alone toward a longer-term target of 33,000 employees, per this pass's own 2026 research (Connecticut Office of Manufacturing, Turn to 10, WFSB, Fox61). Many Electric Boat employees, including veterans transitioning to civilian defense-industry careers, live throughout the broader Groton/New London/Eastern Connecticut region.
What Connecticut-bound military families and veterans should research directly
Military families and veterans considering a Connecticut move, particularly to the Groton/New London area, should research Naval Submarine Base New London's and the Coast Guard Academy's specific housing, schools, and family-support resources directly, alongside Connecticut's specific veteran tax and property benefits -- confirmed directly with the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs -- and should separately confirm the region's real, town-specific property-tax mill rates given Connecticut's real, disclosed roughly 6x statewide spread.
Key takeaways
- Naval Submarine Base New London, in Groton, hosts more than 6,500 military personnel and over 12,000 family members, with a total base-associated population exceeding 32,000 across 680-plus acres and seven submarine piers.
- The U.S. Coast Guard Academy, in adjacent New London, had 1,113 total cadets as of fall 2023, with recent incoming classes of approximately 250-285 students -- the only federal service academy requiring no congressional nomination.
- Electric Boat's real, adjacent defense-manufacturing expansion (approximately 25,000-26,000 employees, growing toward 33,000) is a genuine regional economic anchor for military-connected families in the same Groton/New London area.
- Confirm Connecticut's specific veteran tax and property benefits directly with the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs, and each installation's specific housing, schools, and family-support resources directly.
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