CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS DEMOGRAPHICS AND OTHER FACTS ABOUT U.S. VETERANS

Census Bureau takes at a look at the nation's veterans

Date published: 11/11/2009

BY RUSTY DENNEN

The nation's veterans are men and women, young and old, white, black, brown and yellow.

Many have fought in multiple wars and almost a quarter of them have bachelor's degrees, while about 8 percent own businesses.

With Veterans Day at hand, those are some of the bullets in a recent Census Bureau report. There were 23.2 million veterans in the United States in 2008, according to the report.

Among the highlights:

RACE, ETHNIC ORIGIN: In 2008 there were 2.3 million black veterans, 1.1 million Hispanic, 276,000 Asian and 160,000 were American Indian or Alaska natives. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders made up the smallest number, 27,000. The vast majority of veterans, 18.3 million, were non-Hispanic whites; 1.8 million were women.

WHEN THEY SERVED: Just over a third of veterans, 33 percent, served during the Vietnam War, from 1964 to 1975. In addition, 5.2 million served during the Gulf War (1990 to the present), 2.6 million in World War II, 2.8 million in Korea and 6 million during peace time.

About 50,000 served in both Vietnam and the Gulf War; about 92,000 served in three wars--World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

WHERE THEY LIVE: The number of states with 1 million or more veterans: California, 2.1 million, Florida, 1.7 million, Texas, 1.7 million, New York and Pennsylvania, 1.1 million.

EDUCATION: Of veterans 25 and older, at least 26 percent have bachelor's degrees, while 91 percent have high school diplomas.

DISABILITIES: About 3.4 million veterans had service-connected disabilities last year. Those with any type of disability totaled 5.5 million.

EMPLOYMENT: Veterans between the ages of 18 and 64 who were employed totaled 10.4 million.

BENEFITS: Total federal spending for veterans' benefits programs was $84.4 billion in the 2008 fiscal year. About 2.9 million veterans received $36.2 billion in compensation for service-connected disabilities as of 2008.

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Date published: 11/11/2009