Veteran’s Day 2019

LEAD honors our veterans by doing what we do best: help people with information and data.  Here are some interesting data points regarding North Carolina Veterans from the new 2018 1-Year American Community Survey! (unless otherwise noted).  You can find these by typing in table names listed below into the Census Bureau’s new data tool:  data.census.gov:

Veterans (Table DP02):

There are 667,035 civilian veterans living in North Carolina

• 69,431 are female (10.4%)
• 138,686 are Black or African American Alone (20.8%)
• 22,081 are Hispanic or Latino (3.3%)
• 296,967 are aged 65 and older (44.5% of veterans in the state)
• 69,214 are aged under 35 (10.4% of veterans in the state)

When They Served (Table S2101):

• 161,466 who served in the Gulf War since September 2001
• 167,406 who served in the Gulf War (August 1990-August 2001)
• 271,640 who served during the Gulf War
• 224,694 number of Vietnam Era Veterans
• 37,495 who served in the Korean War
• 12,846 who served in World War II

The number of living veterans that served during three wartime periods include (Table B21002):

• 2,372 who served during the Vietnam Era and both periods of the Gulf War (August 1990 to August 2001 and September 2001 or later)
• 702 served during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam Era

The number of living veterans that served during two wartime periods include (Table B21002):

• 57,665 who served during both periods of the Gulf War (August 1990 to August 2001 and September 2001 or later)
• 14,041 who served during the Gulf War (August 1990 to August 2001) and the Vietnam Era
• 4,581 who served during the Korean War and the Vietnam Era
• 767 who served during World War II and the Korean War

The following counties have more than 20,000 veterans residing within their county:

The following counties have the highest percentages of veterans (2013-2017 data):

Education (Table S2101)

29.4% of Veterans had a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher.  This compares with 32.1% of Nonveterans.

Income (Table S2101)

• The annual median income of Male Veterans was $41,049.  Male Nonveterans’ annual median income was $34,184.
• The annual median income of Female Veterans was $38,267.  Female Nonveterans’ annual median income was $23,877.

Service-Connected Disabilities (Table B21100)

187,972 have a service-connected disability rating

• Of this number, 79,187 had a rating of 70.0 percent or higher. A “service-connected” disability is one that was a result of a disease or injury incurred or aggravated during active military service. Severity of one’s disability is scaled from 0.0 to 100.0 percent, and eligibility for compensation depends on one’s rating.

Labor Force (Table S2101)

281,129 of veterans 18-64 years old were in the labor force in 2018.

• The unemployment rate for these veterans was 3.3%, which is lower than the 5.0% unemployment rate for nonveterans 18-64 years old.

From 2013-2017, the following 22 counties showed veterans with lower unemployment rates than nonveterans (at 95% level):

• Cabarrus
• Caldwell
• Camden
• Chatham
• Cherokee
• Craven
• Cumberland
• Davidson
• Gaston
• Gates
• Greene
• Hoke
• Johnston
• Lenoir
• Onslow
• Person
• Richmond
• Robeson
• Rutherford
• Sampson
• Vance
• Watauga

There are no counties where veterans have a higher unemployment rate than nonveterans (at 95% level).