American Veterans By the Numbers
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
23.7 million
The
number of military veterans in the United States in 2006.
Female
Vets
1.7 million
The number of female
veterans in 2006.
16%
Percentage of Persian
Gulf War veterans in 2006 who were women.
Race and Hispanic
Origin
2.4 million
The number of black
veterans in 2006. Additionally, 1.1 million veterans are Hispanic, 292,000
are Asian, 169,000 are American Indian or Alaska Native, and 28,000 are
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. (The numbers for blacks, Asians,
American Indians, and Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific
Islanders cover only those reporting a single race.)
When They
Served
9.2 million
The number of veterans
age 65 or older in 2006. At the other end of the age spectrum, 1.9 million
were younger than 35.
8 million
Number of
Vietnam-era veterans in 2006. Thirty-three percent of all living veterans
served during this time (1964-1975). In addition, 4.6 million served during
the Gulf War (representing service from Aug. 2, 1990, to present); 3.2
million in World War II (1941-1945); 3.1 million in the Korean War
(1950-1953); and 6.1 million in peacetime.
430,000
In 2005, number of living veterans who
served during both the Vietnam era and in the Gulf War.
Other
living veterans in 2006 who served in two or more wars:
350,000 served during both the Korean and Vietnam
wars.
78,000 served during three periods: World War
II, Korean War, and Vietnam War.
294,000 served in
World War II and the Korean War.
Where They Live
6
Number of states with 1 million or more veterans
in 2006. These states are California (2.2 million), Florida (1.7 million),
Texas (1.7 million), New York (1.1 million), Pennsylvania (1.1 million), and
Ohio (1 million).
Education
25%
Percent of veterans 25 years and over with at least a bachelor's degree in
2006.
90%
Percent of veterans 25 and older
with a high school diploma or higher in 2006.
Income and
Poverty
$34,437
Annual median income of
veterans, in 2006 inflation-adjusted dollars.
5.9%
Percentage of veterans living in poverty, as
of 2006. The corresponding rate for nonveterans was 12.3%.
On the
Job
11.1 million
Number of veterans 18 to 64
in the labor force in 2006.
Disabilities
6.1
million
Number of veterans with a disability. More than half
this number (3.5 million) were 65 and older.
Voting
17.4 million
Number of veterans who voted in the
2004 presidential election. 74% of veterans cast a ballot, compared with 63%
of nonveterans.
Business Owners
14.5%
Percentage of owners of firms that responded to the 2002 Survey of Business
Owners who were veterans. Respondent veteran business owners totaled 3
million.
68%
Percentage of veteran owners of
respondent firms who were 55 and older. This compares with 31% of all owners
of respondent firms. Similarly, in 2002, 55% of veteran-owned respondent
firms with employees reported that their businesses were established,
purchased, or acquired before 1990, compared with 36% of all employer
respondent firms.
7%
Percentage of all
respondent veteran owners who were disabled as the result of injury incurred
or aggravated during active military service.
Benefits
2.7 million
Number of veterans who received
compensation for service-connected disabilities as of 2006. Their
compensation totaled $26.6 billion.
Jan. 21,
2007
The date of death of the last World War I veteran
receiving compensation or pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
$72.4 billion
Total amount of federal
government spending for veterans benefits programs in fiscal year 2006. Of
this total, $34.5 billion went to compensation and pensions and $31.3
billion for medical programs.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
