Commuting and relocation behavior among military personnel in the period 2013–2023

The Norwegian security policy requires a significant military presence in Northern Norway. The geographical footprint of the Norwegian Armed Forces contrasts with generally urban settlement patterns in Norway. While rapid response times are crucial for defense capabilities, the Armed Forces face challenges in ensuring that enough personnel live near their service locations. This creates tension between the Armed Forces’ need for geographical proximity and the utility that personnel derive from living in more urban areas. This report surveys long-distance commuting and residential relocation behavior among military personnel. Our goal is to provide comprehensive facts on geographical mobility to help shape effective personnel policies for the defense sector. We analyze detailed service data from the Norwegian Armed Forces HR and Conscription Centre. The data set covers military personnel employed from 2013 to 2023. We examine where personnel live and serve, how commuting and relocation behavior varies between different groups, and how this has developed over time. We find that staffing is concentrated in a handful of municipalities, with the five largest defense municipalities staffing around 50 percent of military personnel. Over 40 percent serve in rural areas. The personnel also live in other municipalities, but settlement is concentrated around the defense municipalities. In 2023, 27 percent of military personnel commuted long-distance. The commuting rate is highest among those serving in Northern Norway and Trøndelag. Personnel that live in urban areas commute more often. Officers are more likely to commute than specialists, and men commute more often than women. The Army has the highest number of commuters, but the propensity to commute is higher in the other branches. 4–5 percent of personnel annually relocate to their service location. Most move to a service location in Eastern Norway or Northern Norway. The relocation rate is highest in the 23–29 age group. We find no significant difference between men and women, but officers are more likely to relocate than specialists. The less central the service location, the lower the relocation rate. The Army has seen the highest relocation rate, but the rate has decreased in recent years while the relocation rate in the Air Force has increased and overtaken that of the Army. The gap between the share of people serving in rural areas and the share of those living there has implications for readiness and operational capability. This gap can be reduced by adjusting monetary incentives such as relocation bonuses and possibly introducing new measures. In parallel with the urbanization of Norwegian society, the Armed Forces has increased its presence in rural areas over the years. This creates an “urban-rural gap” between the Armed Forces and society. Such a gap can be made easier to manage for the organization and its personnel by facilitating the needs of employees and their families. Further research should study the importance of family and children for personnel mobility, where the need for local settlement is greatest, how monetary incentives affect behavior, and the impact of relocation and commuting on the defense sector’s climate footprint.