ROME, N.Y. — The economic impact of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL) in Rome has decreased slightly but remained significant at $509 million for fiscal year (FY) 2023, the AFRL announced. The impact is down $1.2 million, or 0.2 percent, from the previous year. Both the Utica–Rome metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and […]
ROME, N.Y. — The economic impact of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL) in Rome has decreased slightly but remained significant at $509 million for fiscal year (FY) 2023, the AFRL announced.
The impact is down $1.2 million, or 0.2 percent, from the previous year.
Both the Utica–Rome metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and Syracuse MSA, which include the counties of Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego, are included in the impact statement.
In FY 2023, the AFRL Information Directorate allocated $230 million toward annual expenditures within the five-county region. The spending encompasses various contracts for local service and facility modernization along with research and development contracts awarded to contractors within the impact area.
The AFRL Information Directorate received funds totaling more than $1.4 billion in FY 2023. It had 861 military and civilian employees during the year and paid over $120 million for their combined annual salaries. About 93 percent of the civilian workforce lives in the five-county region.
During the year, 529 local contractors were under Air Force contracts with a combined annual payroll of nearly $83 million.
The Information Directorate estimates it was responsible for an additional 1,516 indirect jobs in the regional with an annual dollar value of $88 million for those jobs.
The comptroller of the AFRL Information Directorate collects information about the organization’s purchases, contracts, utilities, construction, personnel numbers, and their salaries from various sources. The data is then compiled and analyzed according to official Air Force directorates. Multipliers, such as the indirect-jobs multiplier, have been developed according to U.S. Department of Defense standards based on the employment base size for each region surrounding an installation and the mission set of the installation.
The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force and has more than 12,500 employees across nine technology areas and over 40 locations around the world. The Rome facility is located at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park at the Steven J. DiMeo Campus.
