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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.
Share of labor force that are veterans, by state, 2017 annual averages
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 veteransis available from the Current Population Survey.
United States Department of Labor
