Until the 1970s Khamis Mushait was a small town of less than 50,000 servicing the surrounding mild-climate agricultural region. Since then its population has grown dramatically to reach over 372,695 as of the 2004 census. The city is surrounded by farms producing agricultural crops.
King Khalid Air Base (KMX) has a 12,400 ft (3,780 m) paved runway without customs facilities. The base was designed and built by US Army and Air Force engineers in the 1960s and 70s and has F-15 service facilities. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US Airforce had a base here from which they launched bombers on Baghdad
