(NEXSTAR) — Veterans comprise roughly 6% of the U.S. population, U.S. Census Bureau data shows. In some states, however, veterans represent an even larger part of the public.
The Census Bureau’s most recent American Community Survey estimates more than 15.8 million Americans previously served. Unsurprisingly, the nation’s most-populated states — Texas, Florida, and California — are home to the most veterans.
Each state has more than 1 million veterans, but Texas has the greatest number at nearly 1.4 million.
In four states and the District of Columbia, less than 50,000 residents are veterans: Vermont, Wyoming, Rhode Island, and North Dakota.
The interactive map below shows the number of residents in each state that have served, as well as the percentage of the state’s population that are veterans:
Alaska has the largest percentage of former servicemen and women, with roughly 10.5% of its population being veterans. Census data estimates suggest roughly 23,000 of them — or about 42% — served between September 2001 and now. Nearly 16,000 served during the first decade of the Gulf War.
While it has among the fewest veterans, nearly 9% of Wyoming’s residents are former servicemembers.
In New Jersey, New York, and the District of Columbia, less than 4% of the population are considered veterans.
The Census data also estimates that more than 4.4 million of the nation’s 15.8 million veterans are 75 years old or older. Presumably, many of those veterans served in World War II or the Korean War. Of those wars, only roughly 91,000 and 548,000 veterans remain in the U.S.
Over 5.2 million veterans served during the Vietnam era, the Census data shows. The next-largest group of veterans, roughly 4.4 million, served in the last two decades.
