Alaska had highest share of veterans in labor force among states in 2017
March 30, 2018
There were 10.1 million veterans in the U.S. labor force in 2017, accounting for 6.4 percent of the total labor force age 18 and older. The percent of each state’s labor force that were veterans varied across the country, ranging from 12.1 percent in Alaska to 3.4 percent each in New Jersey and New York.
State | Percent | Veteran labor force | Nonveteran labor force |
---|---|---|---|
Total, 18 years and older |
6.4% | 10,125,000 | 147,957,000 |
Alabama |
8.5 | 182,000 | 1,967,000 |
Alaska |
12.1 | 44,000 | 321,000 |
Arizona |
7.0 | 229,000 | 3,033,000 |
Arkansas |
8.0 | 108,000 | 1,241,000 |
California |
4.7 | 887,000 | 18,116,000 |
Colorado |
7.2 | 215,000 | 2,768,000 |
Connecticut |
4.9 | 93,000 | 1,790,000 |
Delaware |
7.7 | 36,000 | 433,000 |
District of Columbia |
3.5 | 14,000 | 384,000 |
Florida |
7.3 | 734,000 | 9,284,000 |
Georgia |
8.2 | 410,000 | 4,607,000 |
Hawaii |
8.1 | 55,000 | 626,000 |
Idaho |
6.6 | 54,000 | 762,000 |
Illinois |
4.7 | 295,000 | 6,046,000 |
Indiana |
7.4 | 239,000 | 3,011,000 |
Iowa |
6.9 | 113,000 | 1,527,000 |
Kansas |
6.1 | 88,000 | 1,366,000 |
Kentucky |
7.3 | 148,000 | 1,885,000 |
Louisiana |
7.1 | 149,000 | 1,946,000 |
Maine |
8.0 | 55,000 | 635,000 |
Maryland |
8.4 | 268,000 | 2,919,000 |
Massachusetts |
4.8 | 172,000 | 3,437,000 |
Michigan |
5.4 | 260,000 | 4,522,000 |
Minnesota |
5.9 | 178,000 | 2,846,000 |
Mississippi |
7.7 | 98,000 | 1,169,000 |
Missouri |
7.0 | 208,000 | 2,751,000 |
Montana |
9.9 | 51,000 | 465,000 |
Nebraska |
6.4 | 63,000 | 920,000 |
Nevada |
9.4 | 135,000 | 1,308,000 |
New Hampshire |
6.7 | 49,000 | 677,000 |
New Jersey |
3.4 | 150,000 | 4,279,000 |
New Mexico |
7.6 | 70,000 | 852,000 |
New York |
3.4 | 323,000 | 9,240,000 |
North Carolina |
7.5 | 365,000 | 4,481,000 |
North Dakota |
6.6 | 27,000 | 383,000 |
Ohio |
6.5 | 369,000 | 5,292,000 |
Oklahoma |
8.3 | 151,000 | 1,668,000 |
Oregon |
7.3 | 152,000 | 1,941,000 |
Pennsylvania |
6.1 | 382,000 | 5,882,000 |
Rhode Island |
5.8 | 32,000 | 516,000 |
South Carolina |
8.4 | 189,000 | 2,060,000 |
South Dakota |
10.2 | 46,000 | 407,000 |
Tennessee |
8.3 | 262,000 | 2,912,000 |
Texas |
6.8 | 905,000 | 12,409,000 |
Utah |
5.2 | 79,000 | 1,445,000 |
Vermont |
5.6 | 19,000 | 319,000 |
Virginia |
10.8 | 463,000 | 3,806,000 |
Washington |
6.7 | 245,000 | 3,425,000 |
West Virginia |
8.3 | 64,000 | 711,000 |
Wisconsin |
5.7 | 175,000 | 2,905,000 |
Wyoming |
9.6 | 28,000 | 263,000 |
Following Alaska, Virginia (10.8 percent) and South Dakota (10.2 percent) had the highest shares of veterans in their labor forces.
These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see "Employment Situation of Veterans — 2017" (HTML) (PDF). Veterans are men and women who previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were civilians when they were surveyed. People on active duty at the time of the survey are outside the scope of the survey. More information about veterans is available from the Current Population Survey.
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Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Alaska had highest share of veterans in labor force among states in 2017 on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/alaska-had-highest-share-of-veterans-in-labor-force-among-states-in-2017.htm (visited January 11, 2019).
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