Fast Facts and Stats About Veterans in the United States

Veterans Day 2011 is this Friday and the U.S. Census has put together a compilation of facts and stats about the veteran population. Here are a few examples of what you’ll find.
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21.8 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2010.
Source: 2010 American Community Survey
7.6 million
Number of Vietnam-era veterans in 2010. Thirty-five percent of all living veterans served during this time (1964-1975). In addition, 4.8 million served during the Gulf War (representing service from Aug. 2, 1990, to present); 2.1 million in World War II (1941-1945); 2.6 million in the Korean War (1950-1953); and 5.5 million in peacetime only.
Source: 2010 American Community Survey
92%
Percent of veterans 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher in 2010, compared with 86 percent of the population as a whole.
Source: 2010 American Community Survey
12.4 million
Number of veterans who voted in the 2010 congressional election. Fifty-seven percent of veterans voted in the 2010 congressional election.
Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2010
9%
Percentage of all U.S. nonfarm firms that are majority owned by veterans. Veteran-owned firms comprised an estimated 2.4 million of the 27.1 million nonfarm businesses nationwide in 2007.
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