Hoosier Veterans

Carol O. Rogers

Deputy Director, Executive Editor and State Census Liaison, Indiana Business Research Center, Indiana University Kelley School of Business

The number of veterans living in Indiana is above 455,000 and comprises nearly 10 percent of the adult (18 and older) population. In other words, this is a very large group of people, and a group that is deserving of all of the attention we can give them.

As seen in Figure 1, the number of veterans in Indiana has slowly declined over the past few years—by 34,045 between 2010 and 2013 (the latest year available from the U.S. Census Bureau). Nationwide, we have seen a loss of 1.4 million veterans since 2010.

Figure 1: Veterans Living in Indiana

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Source: American Community Survey five-year estimates

This isn’t entirely unexpected, as the largest numbers of veterans served during World War II, the Korean War and during the Vietnam era—in other words, 45 years ago or more (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Period of Service for Hoosier Veterans

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Source: American Community Survey five-year estimates, 2013

Figure 3 through Figure 5 provides a current view of Indiana veterans by age, income and education levels.

Figure 3: Indiana Veterans by Age Group

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Source: American Community Survey five-year estimates, 2013

Figure 4: Median Income for Indiana Veterans and Non-Veterans

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Source: American Community Survey five-year estimates, 2013

Figure 5: Education Comparison for Indiana Veterans and Non-Veterans

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Source: American Community Survey five-year estimates, 2013

It is worth noting that numerous state programs provide services to veterans, including workforce services from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD). According to the most recent data available for the last quarter of 2014:

  • 5,700 veterans were served by DWD/WorkOne offices
  • 3,400 newly enrolled veterans (and eligible spouses) were in case management services
  • 4,485 used the job matching services of Indiana Career Connect

The DWD labor market information service (Research & Analysis, to use their formal name) has added a new veterans data component to their labor market website (Hoosiers by the Numbers). A new virtual career counselor tool provides information that allows veterans to estimate the preparation time required to transition from their military occupation to a civilian one, including current “hot” jobs. Visit the Veterans topic page on Hoosiers by the Numbers to learn more.