2017 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium | Annual Disability Statistics Compendium

Section 5: Veterans

This section presents statistics on Veterans in the United States. Specifically, the data address service connected to disability rating; the prevalence of disabilities in the Veteran population; the portion of the Veteran population that experiences poverty (as well as the difference between the poverty rates (poverty gap) of Veterans with and without disabilities), by disability status; and Veterans’ benefits, by disability status. The principal sources of these data are the U.S. Census Bureau, specifically the American Community Survey and the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Annual Benefits Report. For these tables, statistics for people with disabilities (disability status) are based on having responded ‘yes’ to a series of questions within the American Community Survey (see the glossary for more details). Poverty is defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and set as a dollar threshold by the U.S. Census Bureau in all sources (see the glossary for details).

Tables

Table 5.1: In 2016, according to the American Community Survey, 1,276,730 individuals ages 18 and over living in the community reported having a military service-connected disability rating of 70 percent or more.

Table 5.2: In 2016, there were 9,129,782 civilian veterans ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 1,698,848 of which were individuals with disabilities—a prevalence rate of 18.6 percent. West Virginia had the highest prevalence rate, 29.2 percent, while Maryland had the lowest prevalence rate, 12.5 percent.

Tables 5.3 and 5.4: In 2016, of the 1,698,848 civilian veterans with disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 299,237 individuals lived in poverty—a poverty rate of 17.6 percent. In contrast, of the 7,430,934 civilian veterans without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 481,222 civilian veterans lived in poverty—a poverty rate of 6.5 percent. The poverty rate for civilian veterans with disabilities was highest in the District of Columbia (47.0 percent) and lowest in Alaska (5.8 percent).

Table 5.5: In 2016, the poverty rate of civilian veterans with disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 17.6 percent, while the poverty rate of individuals without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 6.5 percent—a poverty gap of 11.1 percentage points. The poverty gap was smallest in Alaska (-0.4 percentage points), meaning the poverty rate of individuals without disabilities was higher than that of individuals with disabilities) and greatest in the District of Columbia (38.2 percentage points).

Table 5.6: In the Federal Fiscal Year 2016, the United States spent a total of $84,028,287 on compensation and pension benefits paid to disabled veterans.

State	Total Veterans	Has a Rating	Percent			Rating Not Reported	State	Total Veterans	Has a Rating	Percent			Rating Not Reported
Table 5.1 Service-Connected Disability Rating—Civilian Veterans Ages 18 Years and Over Living in the Community, by Disability Status: 2016
State	Total Veterans	Has a Rating	0	10 to 60	70 Higher	Rating Not Reported	State	Total Veterans	Has a Rating	0	10 to 60	70 Higher	Rating Not Reported
U.S.	18,496,937	4,022,450	188,318	2,331,550	1,276,730	225,852	MT	85,461	20,429	652	13,264	5,345	1,168
AL	331,076	87,087	3,805	50,080	27,303	5,899	NE	120,533	35,696	1,428	24,165	7,883	2,220
AK	65,814	18,202	552	11,086	5,246	1,318	NV	208,263	49,535	2,530	27,909	16,181	2,915
AZ	485,094	97,451	5,293	60,821	26,161	5,176	NH	97,864	15,727	860	9,961	4,284	622
AR	197,781	44,810	1,708	22,284	18,392	2,426	NJ	330,766	48,633	3,370	26,279	15,099	3,885
CA	1,624,519	347,702	21,067	198,719	104,153	23,763	NM	142,187	35,126	1,791	18,019	13,089	2,227
CO	376,108	90,574	4,126	52,873	28,567	5,008	NY	723,582	118,055	6,335	67,766	35,354	8,600
CT	170,879	24,573	1,829	14,486	6,614	1,644	NC	666,425	168,941	7,118	89,595	63,856	8,372
DE	63,316	9,492	570	5,641	2,751	530	ND	46,905	12,266	708	8,668	2,564	326
DC	26,346	4,128	605	2,457	673	393	OH	729,520	120,805	6,369	73,238	34,120	7,078
FL	1,429,330	315,670	16,444	191,849	93,080	14,297	OK	275,808	87,374	2,375	42,931	38,320	3,748
GA	643,660	166,058	4,868	92,110	60,066	9,014	OR	295,845	67,853	2,550	37,852	23,960	3,491
HI	104,719	25,489	1,134	15,488	7,132	1,735	PA	791,295	123,805	6,848	71,353	36,732	8,872
ID	110,599	23,739	1,329	15,154	6,150	1,106	RI	55,465	8,864	609	5,640	2,341	274
IL	583,994	90,419	6,110	50,540	27,302	6,467	SC	367,504	93,265	3,256	51,941	31,540	6,528
IN	381,073	79,576	3,390	52,303	19,808	4,075	SD	61,405	14,605	519	10,167	3,089	830
IA	183,822	33,085	2,013	21,016	7,915	2,141	TN	427,976	100,699	4,973	54,774	35,198	5,754
KS	175,372	36,198	2,407	21,716	9,717	2,358	TX	1,460,627	394,396	13,108	214,690	145,795	20,803
KY	272,899	62,677	2,446	35,502	21,291	3,438	UT	122,654	26,224	2,234	16,977	6,336	677
LA	241,202	49,652	2,622	26,335	17,795	2,900	VT	37,412	6,648	811	3,163	2,115	559
ME	102,948	22,913	505	12,086	9,528	794	VA	671,080	177,265	7,189	106,214	57,247	6,615
MD	370,459	73,505	3,429	45,328	21,439	3,309	WA	537,385	121,987	4,911	72,744	37,547	6,785
MA	311,150	56,901	2,887	32,710	18,374	2,930	WV	137,939	35,352	1,104	19,486	12,385	2,377
MI	559,155	96,157	4,871	54,450	31,890	4,946	WI	336,559	64,137	3,507	41,019	16,516	3,095
MN	310,786	83,415	4,158	59,023	15,938	4,296	WY	47,535	10,520	359	6,876	2,575	710
MS	176,719	39,807	2,410	23,331	11,733	2,333	PR	79,492	21,899	839	9,512	9,368	2,180
MO	420,122	84,963	2,226	49,471	28,241	5,025
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, American FactFinder, Table B21100; factfinder.census.gov Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability.

State	Total	Disability		No Disability		State	Total	Disability		No Disability
Table 5.2 Civilian Veterans Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States, by Disability Status: 2016
State	Total	Count	% [1]	Count	% [1]	State	Total	Count	% [1]	Count	% [1]
U.S.	9,129,782	1,698,848	18.6	7,430,934	81.4	MT	41,658	9,880	23.7	31,778	76.3
AL	172,957	37,722	21.8	135,235	78.2	NE	58,736	12,407	21.1	46,329	78.9
AK	46,211	8,005	17.3	38,206	82.7	NV	105,780	18,365	17.4	87,415	82.6
AZ	218,783	40,274	18.4	178,509	81.6	NH	49,150	8,297	16.9	40,853	83.1
AR	96,682	25,649	26.5	71,033	73.5	NJ	125,705	21,738	17.3	103,967	82.7
CA	780,836	130,602	16.7	650,234	83.3	NM	70,377	13,358	19.0	57,019	81.0
CO	210,127	35,617	17.0	174,510	83.0	NY	310,866	55,260	17.8	255,606	82.2
CT	70,269	10,341	14.7	59,928	85.3	NC	362,517	72,743	20.1	289,774	79.9
DE	27,731	3,990	14.4	23,741	85.6	ND	24,965	3,806	15.2	21,159	84.8
DC	14,525	2,765	19.0	11,760	81.0	OH	348,603	63,729	18.3	284,874	81.7
FL	642,438	116,132	18.1	526,306	81.9	OK	143,378	35,420	24.7	107,958	75.3
GA	380,293	76,732	20.2	303,561	79.8	OR	138,544	29,959	21.6	108,585	78.4
HI	58,665	8,980	15.3	49,685	84.7	PA	338,652	59,054	17.4	279,598	82.6
ID	51,731	9,461	18.3	42,270	81.7	RI	22,200	5,086	22.9	17,114	77.1
IL	260,764	45,260	17.4	215,504	82.6	SC	195,353	41,225	21.1	154,128	78.9
IN	182,923	37,734	20.6	145,189	79.4	SD	32,113	5,642	17.6	26,471	82.4
IA	81,078	13,175	16.2	67,903	83.8	TN	225,377	51,806	23.0	173,571	77.0
KS	86,216	16,470	19.1	69,746	80.9	TX	817,203	155,947	19.1	661,256	80.9
KY	135,721	31,671	23.3	104,050	76.7	UT	59,803	10,195	17.0	49,608	83.0
LA	124,062	24,185	19.5	99,877	80.5	VT	16,233	3,223	19.9	13,010	80.1
ME	44,859	8,473	18.9	36,386	81.1	VA	409,505	56,365	13.8	353,140	86.2
MD	203,371	25,373	12.5	177,998	87.5	WA	289,331	53,827	18.6	235,504	81.4
MA	129,781	20,834	16.1	108,947	83.9	WV	62,812	18,363	29.2	44,449	70.8
MI	246,513	49,931	20.3	196,582	79.7	WI	150,522	25,862	17.2	124,660	82.8
MN	138,757	22,923	16.5	115,834	83.5	WY	26,372	4,732	17.9	21,640	82.1
MS	97,146	18,015	18.5	79,131	81.5	PR	29,784	8,563	28.8	21,221	71.2
MO	201,588	42,245	21.0	159,343	79.0
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, American FactFinder, Table B21007; factfinder.census.gov Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability. [1] Count of disability or no disability as a percent of total.

State	Total	Poverty		State	Total	Poverty
Table 5.3 Poverty—Civilian Veterans with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2016
State	Total	Count	% [1]	State	Total	Count	% [1]
U.S.	1,698,848	299,237	17.6	MT	9,880	1,347	13.6
AL	37,722	7,116	18.9	NE	12,407	1,913	15.4
AK	8,005	464	5.8	NV	18,365	3,058	16.7
AZ	40,274	7,245	18.0	NH	8,297	1,147	13.8
AR	25,649	4,729	18.4	NJ	21,738	4,303	19.8
CA	130,602	22,366	17.1	NM	13,358	2,519	18.9
CO	35,617	6,189	17.4	NY	55,260	11,720	21.2
CT	10,341	1,036	10.0	NC	72,743	11,618	16.0
DE	3,990	341	8.5	ND	3,806	776	20.4
DC	2,765	1,300	47.0	OH	63,729	14,411	22.6
FL	116,132	21,930	18.9	OK	35,420	6,790	19.2
GA	76,732	12,839	16.7	OR	29,959	5,945	19.8
HI	8,980	1,448	16.1	PA	59,054	12,719	21.5
ID	9,461	1,631	17.2	RI	5,086	967	19.0
IL	45,260	9,562	21.1	SC	41,225	5,482	13.3
IN	37,734	6,626	17.6	SD	5,642	802	14.2
IA	13,175	1,863	14.1	TN	51,806	9,620	18.6
KS	16,470	2,249	13.7	TX	155,947	21,211	13.6
KY	31,671	6,038	19.1	UT	10,195	2,307	22.6
LA	24,185	5,420	22.4	VT	3,223	461	14.3
ME	8,473	1,703	20.1	VA	56,365	8,093	14.4
MD	25,373	3,917	15.4	WA	53,827	9,480	17.6
MA	20,834	3,874	18.6	WV	18,363	3,217	17.5
MI	49,931	9,962	20.0	WI	25,862	3,659	14.1
MN	22,923	2,770	12.1	WY	4,732	1,192	25.2
MS	18,015	3,651	20.3	PR	8,563	2,224	26.0
MO	42,245	8,211	19.4
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, American FactFinder, Table B21007; factfinder.census.gov Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability. [1] Count of Veterans with disabilities in poverty as a percent of total.

State	Total	Poverty	% [1]	State	Total	Poverty	% [1]
Table 5.4 Poverty—Civilian Veterans without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2016
U.S.	7,430,934	481,222	6.5	MT	31,778	2,213	7.0
AL	135,235	11,334	8.4	NE	46,329	2,723	5.9
AK	38,206	2,352	6.2	NV	87,415	6,086	7.0
AZ	178,509	14,728	8.3	NH	40,853	1,514	3.7
AR	71,033	6,832	9.6	NJ	103,967	4,193	4.0
CA	650,234	50,198	7.7	NM	57,019	4,194	7.4
CO	174,510	8,909	5.1	NY	255,606	17,926	7.0
CT	59,928	2,712	4.5	NC	289,774	19,069	6.6
DE	23,741	1,680	7.1	ND	21,159	1,222	5.8
DC	11,760	1,031	8.8	OH	284,874	20,545	7.2
FL	526,306	38,220	7.3	OK	107,958	8,188	7.6
GA	303,561	19,870	6.5	OR	108,585	8,306	7.6
HI	49,685	2,321	4.7	PA	279,598	13,842	5.0
ID	42,270	2,567	6.1	RI	17,114	1,212	7.1
IL	215,504	14,054	6.5	SC	154,128	10,118	6.6
IN	145,189	8,575	5.9	SD	26,471	1,275	4.8
IA	67,903	5,117	7.5	TN	173,571	11,276	6.5
KS	69,746	4,424	6.3	TX	661,256	42,982	6.5
KY	104,050	7,460	7.2	UT	49,608	2,004	4.0
LA	99,877	8,709	8.7	VT	13,010	616	4.7
ME	36,386	1,794	4.9	VA	353,140	15,649	4.4
MD	177,998	7,375	4.1	WA	235,504	11,825	5.0
MA	108,947	5,545	5.1	WV	44,449	3,623	8.2
MI	196,582	12,767	6.5	WI	124,660	7,411	5.9
MN	115,834	5,925	5.1	WY	21,640	1,242	5.7
MS	79,131	6,975	8.8	PR	21,221	3,492	16.5
MO	159,343	10,494	6.6
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, American FactFinder, Table B21007; factfinder.census.gov Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability. [1] Count of Veterans without disabilities in poverty as a percent of total.

State	Poverty Rate (%)		Gap (% pts) [2]	State	Poverty Rate (%)		Gap (% pts) [2]
Table 5.5 Poverty Gap—Civilian Veterans Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States by Disability Status: 2016
State	Disability [1]	No Disability [1]	Gap (% pts) [2]	State	Disability [1]	No Disability [1]	Gap (% pts) [2]
U.S.	17.6	6.5	11.1	MT	13.6	7.0	6.6
AL	18.9	8.4	10.5	NE	15.4	5.9	9.5
AK	5.8	6.2	-0.4	NV	16.7	7.0	9.7
AZ	18.0	8.3	9.7	NH	13.8	3.7	10.1
AR	18.4	9.6	8.8	NJ	19.8	4.0	15.8
CA	17.1	7.7	9.4	NM	18.9	7.4	11.5
CO	17.4	5.1	12.3	NY	21.2	7.0	14.2
CT	10.0	4.5	5.5	NC	16.0	6.6	9.4
DE	8.5	7.1	1.4	ND	20.4	5.8	14.6
DC	47.0	8.8	38.2	OH	22.6	7.2	15.4
FL	18.9	7.3	11.6	OK	19.2	7.6	11.6
GA	16.7	6.5	10.2	OR	19.8	7.6	12.2
HI	16.1	4.7	11.4	PA	21.5	5.0	16.5
ID	17.2	6.1	11.1	RI	19.0	7.1	11.9
IL	21.1	6.5	14.6	SC	13.3	6.6	6.7
IN	17.6	5.9	11.7	SD	14.2	4.8	9.4
IA	14.1	7.5	6.6	TN	18.6	6.5	12.1
KS	13.7	6.3	7.4	TX	13.6	6.5	7.1
KY	19.1	7.2	11.9	UT	22.6	4.0	18.6
LA	22.4	8.7	13.7	VT	14.3	4.7	9.6
ME	20.1	4.9	15.2	VA	14.4	4.4	10.0
MD	15.4	4.1	11.3	WA	17.6	5.0	12.6
MA	18.6	5.1	13.5	WV	17.5	8.2	9.3
MI	20.0	6.5	13.5	WI	14.1	5.9	8.2
MN	12.1	5.1	7.0	WY	25.2	5.7	19.5
MS	20.3	8.8	11.5	PR	26.0	16.5	9.5
MO	19.4	6.6	12.8
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, American FactFinder, Table B21007; factfinder.census.gov. Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability. [1] Count of civilian Veterans as a percent of total. [2] The difference in percentage points between disability and no disability poverty rates.

State	Total ($) [1]	State	Total ($) [1]
Table 5.6 Veterans Benefits Administration—Compensation and Pension Benefits Paid to Disabled Veterans and their Survivors: Federal Fiscal Year 2016
U.S.	84,028,287	MO	1,773,038
AL	2,062,094	MT	353,054
AK	280,603	NE	594,498
AZ	1,833,525	NV	944,687
AR	1,129,084	NH	344,688
CA	7,252,271	NJ	1,126,820
CO	1,683,271	NM	853,572
CT	469,393	NY	2,567,691
DE	231,634	NC	3,875,723
DC	96,502	ND	182,453
FL	6,288,593	OH	2,412,518
GA	3,528,819	OK	2,011,045
HI	438,960	OR	1,392,002
ID	457,871	PA	2,612,747
IL	1,847,960	RI	242,773
IN	1,347,665	SC	2,122,970
IA	628,838	SD	258,293
KS	698,221	TN	2,292,295
KY	1,339,620	TX	8,433,064
LA	1,325,975	UT	499,178
ME	569,940	VT	145,689
MD	1,412,897	VA	3,154,782
MA	1,236,294	WA	2,351,434
MI	2,148,061	WV	763,343
MN	1,225,675	WI	1,217,552
MS	882,755	WY	173,669
Source: Veterans Benefits Administration, 2016 Annual Benefits Report; Appendices E1-E52 www.va.gov/vetdata/expenditures.asp [1] In thousands (75,265,435 represents 75,265,435,000), except as indicated.