As we approach this Memorial Day Weekend, we pause to remember the sacrifice made on our behalf by our veterans. Nationwide veterans comprise 8% of the population. But there are clusters of populations where veterans comprise much higher percentages of the population. This article from Trulia published in Forbes back in 2014 suggests that veterans tend to be in smaller cities near military bases.
We found seven counties where veterans comprise more than 20% of the general population. Several like in Texas and west Florida are concentrated around military bases. However, having a military base does not necessarily ensure a high veteran population. There are many military bases for example in California, but have a low percentage of veteran population. The article suggests a more rural population for veteran concentrations with high home ownership, older population, and low diversity. The average county population of the seven counties is 132,000, but the average age of 34 is substantially less than the national average at 41. As the article suggests, U.S. Citizenship of veteran concentrations is much higher than the national average at 54% vs. 47%.
