By the numbers: How NH benefits from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employees living in New Hampshire amassed some $239 million in payroll during 2022, according to a new report from the Seacoast Shipyard Association.

The earnings, which contributed to the local economies, were spread out among more than 40 individual Granite State cities and towns. The concentration of employees came from the Seacoast area closest to the shipyard but also from more far-flung areas such as Wolfeboro (50 miles away), Manchester (about 45 miles away) and Alton (about 40 miles away).

The Seacoast Shipyard Association was created to protect the shipyard from closure by, in part, issuing a report each year on the facility’s economic impact, not only on New Hampshire but Maine and Massachusetts as well.

“This year’s report shows once again the Shipyard is not just a key pillar of our national security, but an economic driver for our state and communities,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, Democrat from the 1st Congressional District.

In 2022, Pappas helped launch the bipartisan Public Shipyard Caucus, created to support the nation’s four public shipyards: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Norfolk (VA) Naval Shipyard, Puget Sound (WA) Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, and Pearl Harbor (HI) Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.

“As a member of the Public Shipyard Caucus, I am committed to supporting our shipyard and the dedicated men and women who work hard every day to advance its mission,” Pappas added.

The civilian payroll at PNS totaled $663,523,786 with a total economic impact estimated by the association at about $1.5 billion.

That payroll is about 36% more than it was a decade ago, when the association reported a total civilian payroll of $421.8 million. In 2021, the association said the total payroll was $670.7 million. It reached a record high in 2020 of $671.4 million.

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By state, while New Hampshire’s total payroll was $239 million among 2,899 employees, Maine came in at $372 million and 4,101 employees, while Massachusetts tallied $24 million and 169 employees. “Other states,” according to the association report, accounted for $28.7 million and 187 workers.

The military payroll in 2022, according to the association, was $38.5 million — $32.7 for Navy personnel and $5.8 million for Coast Guard personnel operating out of a base at the shipyard.

Purchased goods and services amounted to $196.2 million, while contracted services (maintenance, construction, utilities) came to $559.7 million.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, has been at the forefront over the years to keep the shipyard open against closure hearings. She’s also spearheaded continued funding against such threats as a Trump Administration proposal in 2020 to divert money away from Portsmouth and other installations so that Donald Trump could fund his wall along the southern border.

While underscoring the economic importance of the shipyard to the region, Shaheen said, “The investments we have secured to modernize the Shipyard are paying dividends, and I’ll continue to advocate for more support for the Shipyard and its workers, as the Senate finishes its work on the annual defense and government funding legislation.”

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, located in Kittery, Maine, is the Navy’s oldest continuing operating shipyard, having been founded in 1800. It is responsible for the overhaul, repair and modernization of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered attack Los Angeles- and Virginia-class submarines.

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