Our View: Numbers tell a tale of veteran trends

Another Veterans Day has come and gone. We hope you were able to meet up with one on Thursday. If patterns continue, it will likely be much more difficult to find a veteran in our midst in the future. That’s what we’ve found in looking at statistics, mostly from the U.S. Census, about population trends.

The following is a short explanation from the Census on what is happening to our veteran population. We follow that up with some of the numbers we’ve collected.

“The number of veterans in the United States has been declining for decades, as military experience becomes less common and veterans of older wars age and die,” the U.S. Census reported in 2020. “The massive numbers of men who volunteered or were drafted into service during World War II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars, swelled the size of the veteran population after these men left the armed forces. Following World War II, more than 1 in 3 adult men had ever served in the military. Their numbers have been steadily declining. Over the last two decades alone, the veteran population declined from over 26 million to 18 million. The creation of an all-volunteer force in 1973 further transformed the armed forces by making military service a less widespread, more selective experience for Americans. Today, about one in eight adult men and one in 100 adult women have ever served.”

17.4 million

The number of military veterans in the United States in 2019. There were an estimated 19.9 million

veterans in 2017.

7

Percentage of veterans compared to the total

population of the United States.

1.6 million

The number of female vets in the U.S. in 2019.

50.4

The percentage of veterans age 65 and older in 2019. At the other end of the age spectrum, 8.4 percent are younger than age 35.

300,000

Estimated number of surviving World War II vets.

16 million

People who served in World War II. In 1940, there were about 458,00 active members of the military.

By 1945, there were 12.5 million.

6.1 million

Number of World War II volunteers.

6 million

People who served in the Korean War.

9 million

People who served during the Vietnam era.

2 million

Average annual count of active duty military since

the 1990s.

46.7

Percentage of vets who received some sort of military service-related cash or noncash benefit in 2017.

94.9

Percentage of veterans with health insurance.

coverage through a variety of public and private health insurance sources.

32

Percentage of veterans with a mortgage who secured it through a VA loan.

$1,547

The median monthly value of school-related expenses covered by the GI Bill.

19.5

Percentage of veterans who have received disability compensation payments

7.3

Percentage of veterans who have received military retirement benefits.