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 non-veteran counterparts.

The Killeen-Temple metro area, located in Texas, is home to a higher concentration of military veterans than the average across the country. There are an estimated 64,366 civilians living in the metro area with a background of military service, or 21.0% of the local adult population. Nationwide, just 7.1% of the civilian adult population are veterans.

It is important to note that 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 Killeen-Temple, those whose period of service is confined to the Vietnam Era account for 14.3% of the total veteran population. Another 29.1% of veterans in the metro area enlisted after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

All data in this story are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey.

 

Rank	Metro area	Civilian adults who have served (%)	Total number of veterans	Veterans who enlisted after 9/11 (%)	Veterans who served in Vietnam only (%)
1	Hinesville, GA	21.9	11,307	35.5	10.2
2	Jacksonville, NC	21.5	24,005	38.5	13.4
3	Killeen-Temple, TX	21.0	64,366	29.1	14.3
4	Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ	19.4	18,520	13.3	28.1
5	Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL	19.0	39,238	17.1	22.6
6	Clarksville, TN-KY	17.8	36,244	29.5	16.7
7	Lawton, OK	17.6	15,582	22.8	20.3
8	Fayetteville, NC	17.2	60,970	26.7	16.5
9	Colorado Springs, CO	17.0	89,829	22.7	20.0
10	Fairbanks, AK	16.5	11,188	31.8	20.0
11	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	16.3	32,540	15.6	26.9
12	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	16.0	207,174	21.9	19.6
13	The Villages, FL	15.5	18,647	2.0	48.2
14	Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY	15.4	17,235	17.8	23.7
15	Panama City, FL	15.3	21,209	14.3	25.7
16	New Bern, NC	15.2	14,023	17.7	27.6
17	Great Falls, MT	15.1	9,183	23.1	24.3
18	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL	15.0	56,550	15.3	25.9
19	Warner Robins, GA	14.9	19,920	13.8	22.5
20	Homosassa Springs, FL	14.6	18,362	5.7	42.6
21	Cheyenne, WY	14.4	10,592	17.4	24.7
22	Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ	14.3	25,050	6.4	43.1
23	Columbus, GA-AL	13.9	32,239	20.3	23.8
24	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL	13.8	66,519	9.8	31.0
25	Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ	13.7	26,676	9.6	42.7
26	California-Lexington Park, MD	13.6	11,411	15.5	20.0
27	Punta Gorda, FL	13.4	21,986	4.8	41.7
28	Watertown-Fort Drum, NY	13.2	9,829	31.4	19.5
29	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	13.1	28,586	17.7	27.3
30	Anchorage, AK	12.9	37,357	21.6	24.0
31	Gulfport-Biloxi, MS	12.8	39,680	16.7	26.3
32	Dover, DE	12.8	17,242	14.9	28.0
33	Goldsboro, NC	12.8	11,699	16.0	24.3
34	Manhattan, KS	12.6	11,496	34.5	18.9
35	Rapid City, SD	12.5	13,283	15.4	29.0
36	Ocala, FL	12.3	36,149	6.4	36.9
37	Grants Pass, OR	12.3	8,638	9.5	39.2
38	Jacksonville, FL	12.1	142,111	15.9	24.6
39	Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	12.0	54,770	18.0	28.1
40	Wichita Falls, TX	11.9	13,256	22.9	25.8
41	Sumter, SC	11.9	12,505	18.3	27.3
42	Hilton Head Island-Bluffton, SC	11.8	20,397	12.4	34.0
43	Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL	11.7	15,362	4.4	37.3
44	Sebring-Avon Park, FL	11.5	10,026	3.1	37.0
45	Longview, WA	11.3	9,468	9.7	38.3
46	Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL	11.2	60,761	10.1	36.3
47	Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL	11.2	19,174	10.9	40.6
48	Charleston-North Charleston, SC	11.0	67,058	15.8	26.7
49	Huntsville, AL	11.0	39,804	15.1	24.6
50	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	10.9	10,744	13.6	34.1

 

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.