Veteran Population

This indicator reports the percentage of the population age 18 and older that served (even for a short time), but is not currently serving, on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or that served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II.
Report Area Total Population Age 18+ Total Veterans Veterans, Percent of Total Population
Franklin County, PA 116,847 12,446 10.65%
Pennsylvania 10,052,453 870,770 8.66%
United States 241,816,698 20,108,332 8.32%
Data Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey. 2011-15. Source geography: Tract

Veteran Population by Gender
Report Area Male Female Percent Male Percent Female
Franklin County, PA 11,564 882 20.46% 1.46%
Pennsylvania 818,263 52,507 16.88% 1.01%
United States 18,529,804 1,578,528 15.81% 1.27%
Veteran Population by Age Group, Total
Report Area Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55-64 Age 65-74 Age 75+
Franklin County, PA 894 2,782 2,695 2,847 3,228
Pennsylvania 54,051 185,498 171,953 219,954 239,314
United States 1,710,712 4,903,001 4,137,171 4,760,174 4,597,274
Veteran Population by Age Group, Percent
Report Area Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55-64 Age 65-74 Age 75+
Franklin County, PA 3.01% 6.92% 13.62% 19.44% 25.95%
Pennsylvania 1.90% 5.49% 9.87% 19.90% 24.44%
United States 2.33% 5.82% 10.50% 18.94% 23.60%
Website Updated December 11 2017 Site Reviewed January 05 2018

Veteran Population

Data Background

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide, continuous survey designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, housing, social, and economic data. The ACS samples nearly 3 million addresses each year, resulting in nearly 2 million final interviews. The ACS replaces the long-form decennial census; however, the number of household surveys reported annually for the ACS is significantly less than the number reported in the long-form decennial census. As a result, the ACS combines detailed population and housing data from multiple years to produce reliable estimates for small counties, neighborhoods, and other local areas. Negotiating between timeliness and accuracy, the ACS annually releases current, one-year estimates for geographic areas with large populations; three-year and five-year estimates are also released each year for additional areas based on minimum population thresholds.

Citation: U.S. Census Bureau: A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data (2008).

For more information about this source, including data collection methodology and definitions, refer to the American Community Survey website.

Methodology

Counts for population subgroups and total area population data are acquired from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Data represent estimates for the 5 year period 2010-2015. Data are summarized to 2010 census tract boundaries. Veteran status is classified in the ACS according to yes/no responses to questions 26 and 27. ACS data define civilian veteran as a person 18 years old and over who served (even for a short time), but is not now serving on acting duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, or who served as a Merchant Marine seaman during World War II. Individuals who have training for Reserves or National Guard but no active duty service are not considered veterans in the ACS. Indicator statistics are measured as a percentage of the population aged 18 years and older using the following formula:
Percentage = [Veteran Population] / [Total Population Age 18+] * 100

For more information on the data reported in the American Community Survey, please see the complete American Community Survey 2015 Subject Definitions.

Notes

Race and Ethnicity
Race and ethnicity (Hispanic origin) are collected as two separate categories in the American Community Survey (ACS) based on methods established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1997. Indicator race and ethnicity statistics are generated from self-identified survey responses. Using the OMB standard, the available race categories in the ACS are: White, Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, and Other. An ACS survey respondent may identify as one race alone, or may choose multiple races. Respondents selecting multiple categories are racially identified as “Two or More Races”. The minimum ethnicity categories are: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino. Respondents may only choose one ethnicity. All social and economic data are reported in the ACS public use files by race alone, ethnicity alone, and for the white non-Hispanic population.

Data Limitations
Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) was included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations have age and sex distributions that are very different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on demographic distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population (like areas with military bases, colleges, or jails)..

Trends Over Time
Trends over time are produced using single-year data from the American Community Survey. Single-year data are only available for geographic regions with 100,000 population or more. Because many counties have less than 100,000 population, data is reported for the total United States, states, and Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) regions. Starting in 2012, PUMA boundaries for many areas changed. To accommodate this change, single-year data for survey years prior to 2012 are disaggregated to the county level using population weighted proportions, and then re-summarized to current PUMA boundaries.
Single-year time trend estimates should not be compared to 5-year aggregate estimates.

Courtesy: Community Commons, <www.communitycommons.org>, October 2017