Veterans Facts

Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2004 | 10 a.m.

Some facts about military veterans in Southern Nevada, statewide and nationwide as compiled from U.S. Census Bureau statistics:

The Silver State has the nation's fastest growing veterans population. During the 1990s, Nevada's population of veterans increased 31 percent. Just six other states had double-digit increases between the 1990 and 2000 Censuses: Arizona, Idaho, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Utah.

According to the 2000 Census, Nevada had 16.1 percent of veterans among its civilian population (238,128 of 1.48 million people), the largest in the nation. The national average was 12.7 percent (26.4 million of 208 million people.)

Henderson is rated sixth in the nation among places with 100,000 or more population for percentage of Korean War veterans per civilian population (2.9 percent). Las Vegas is 10th (2.7 percent).

The unincorporated Clark County township of Sunrise Manor near Nellis Air Force Base and O'Callaghan Federal Hospital is rated 10th in the nation among places with 100,000 or more people for the percentage of Vietnam War era veterans per civilian population (6.7 percent).

There are 24.9 million veterans in the United States according to the Statistical Abstract of the United States for 2004, which reflects a 1.5 million person decline since the 2000 census.

1.7 million veterans are women. Also, 16 percent of Persian Gulf veterans are women, while 5 percent of World War II veterans, 3 percent of Vietnam War veterans and 2 percent of Korean War veterans are women.

498,000 veterans served in both World War II and Korea. 429,000 served in Korea and Vietnam. 381,000 served in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf wars. 143,000 served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. 8.2 million are Vietnam era vets while 4.4 million served in World War II.

9.7 million veterans are 65 or older.

2.4 million veterans are black, 1.1 million are Hispanic, 272,000 are Asian and 159,000 are American Indian or native Alaskan.

2.5 million veterans receive $20.8 billion in annual compensation for service-connected disabilities. The total annual government spending for veterans benefits programs is $56.9 billion.