CHARLESTON, S.C. – Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic recently published a study highlighting the command’s updated economic impact of $9.3 billion on the U.S. and $3.2 billion in South Carolina.

The study, which was performed by University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, is the first study since 2019 to outline the total impact of NIWC Atlantic’s economic activity. The impact reflects the dollar value of all final goods and services that can be directly or indirectly attributed to the command and corresponds to 45,377 jobs and nearly $3.9 billion in labor income for the nation.

NIWC Atlantic, formally known to Lowcountry locals as SPAWAR, is an information warfare (IW) focused Navy command and laboratory headquartered in Charleston. NIWC Atlantic’s primary mission is to solve the American warfighter’s technical challenges through research, development, prototyping, delivery, and sustainment of the very best in IW solutions.

In addition to Charleston, NIWC Atlantic maintains facilities in five other states in the U.S., generating significant economic impacts in Virginia ($1.6 billion), Maryland ($159.6 million), Washington, D.C. ($124.6 million), Louisiana ($124.1 million), and Florida ($91.3 million). These impacts can be observed through direct job and income creation as well as procurement efforts that support a vast supplier network consisting of thousands of businesses across the U.S.

The study also concluded that NIWC Atlantic employs approximately 76.5% of all electronics engineers in Charleston and 40.5% of all electronics engineers in South Carolina.

“We are encouraged by the latest study, which illustrates how the demand for IW work has steadily grown over the years and underscores the continued need for top talent in engineering, science, cybersecurity and more,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Nicole Nigro, NIWC Atlantic commanding officer.

The study shared key wage statistics for the local and national sites. Specifically, the average annual wage among all employees at NIWC Atlantic is $109,535, which is 86 percent above the national average. In addition, the average wage across all jobs supported both directly and indirectly by NIWC Atlantic is $85,806 – or 45 percent above the national average. According to the study, these sizable wage premiums are the result of the strong concentration of highly skilled jobs.

The Charleston-based NIWC Atlantic team is more than 3,000 government civilians and military members strong. Of that number, more than 66 percent work in cybersecurity-related fields. Additionally, the study shared that NIWC Atlantic supports more than 25 percent of the cybersecurity sector in Charleston.

“NIWC Atlantic is working hand-in-hand with our local communities and industry partners to establish the command as a primary technology hub and pier in Charleston’s Silicon Harbor,” said Peter C. Reddy, NIWC Atlantic executive director. “We are proud of how the NIWC Atlantic team is building and fostering a technology ecosystem both in Charleston and Nation-wide – an ecosystem necessary to support America’s warfighter for the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

Download Economic Impact Study (pdf, 1.02mb)