New Jersey’s Veteran Population

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The largest portions of the Garden State’s vets live in South Jersey, particularly in the areas around the Fort Dix, McGuire, and Lakehurst military bases and in Cape May near the U.S. Coast Guard training facility. Almost a third of New Jersey veterans served in the Vietnam War era; about 15 percent, in the Korean War, World War II, or the Gulf War from 1990 through today, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey’s 5-year estimates, which averages data collected between 2007 and 2011.

The census data shows New Jersey veterans faring better than non-veterans for a few economic indicators. The 2011 median income for veterans was $42,942, compared with $33,524 for non-veterans. That also was the case for the typical American veteran, who had a median income of $37,463.New Jersey veterans also had higher labor employment rates — 79.3 percent compared with 78.9 percent – and a slightly more favorable unemployment status: 8.2 percent vs. 8.4 percent.

While more non-veterans had a bachelor’s degree — 35.6 percent, compared with 27.2 percent of veterans — more non-veterans also had not completed high school or earned an equivalency diploma: 12.6 percent of non-veterans versus 10 percent of veterans.New Jersey’s vets are older than those elsewhere in the nation, the data shows. About 30 percent are at least 75 years old, while 19.4 percent are 35 to 54. Nationally, about 22 percent of veterans are 75 or older, while the plurality of vets are age 35 to 54. About 7 percent of New Jersey’s population is veterans, compared with 9.6 percent nationally.

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey

For more information: http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/05/28/veterans-in-new-jersey/