The City With the Most Veterans in Every State

Young Americans enlist in the armed services for many reasons, including the opportunity to gain new skills, get physically fit, and earn financial assistance to pay for college. One of the most common reasons, however, is to serve the country. On top of the more than 1.4 million active-duty service members in the military, the United States is home to over 17.8 million veterans. 

The sacrifices veterans have made for the country often follow them long after their service. Nearly half of those who served after the terror attacks of 9/11 say they had an emotionally traumatic or distressing experience while serving, and about one in four of all veterans say readjusting to civilian life was at least somewhat difficult, according to a Pew Research study. 

Still, the same study also found that over half of all veterans say their service provided them with useful skills and training for the civilian job market, and that veterans are less likely to live in poverty and more likely to have higher incomes than their nonveteran counterparts. 

Veterans of the armed service reside in cities across the country, but some parts of the country have a considerably higher concentration of military vets than others. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. identified the metropolitan area in every state with the most veterans relative to the population.

It is important to note that four states – Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont – each have only one metro area. As a result, the metro area in these states ranks as having the largest veteran population by default only. 

Among the metro areas on this list, the share of the adult civilian population with a history of military service ranges from about 6% to nearly 22%, and in most cases exceeds the statewide share by at least 3 percentage points. For context, 7.1% of the total U.S. civilian adult population have served in the military. Here is a look at the U.S. presidents who have served in the military. 

While many veterans chose to enlist out of a sense of patriotic duty, many living veterans did not choose to serve and were drafted into service during the Vietnam War. In most metro areas on this list, those whose period of service is confined to the Vietnam Era account for over 25% of the total veteran population. Here is a look at the wars that claimed the most American lives. 

Click here to see the city with the most veterans in every state 
Click here to read our detailed methodology 

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