BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – With Veteran’s Day approaching, a new report from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business found that about half of the Hoosier state’s veterans are age 65 and older.
Indiana is projected to see a continued decline in the number of veterans in coming decades, said the report in the journal InContext, published by the Indiana Business Research Center.
“As World War II and Korean War veterans have aged, the number of veterans in the state has steadily declined,” said Rachel Strange, a geodemographic analyst in the IBRC. “For example, back in 2010, Indiana had nearly 490,000 veterans compared to the approximately 410,000 today.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs projects that the veteran population will continue to drop, and Indiana will have roughly half as many veterans in 2045,” she added.
This report follows another one released by the IBRC in September which said Indiana is entering a period where there will be little to no change in the size of its labor force, after decades of robust growth.
Most of Indiana’s veterans today – 35 percent – served in the Vietnam War, according to American Community Survey estimates collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Only 3.6 percent of Indiana’s veterans today are part of the “greatest generation,” a term coined for those who served in World War II.
As expected, Marion County has the most veterans – more than 51,600 and about 5.4 percent of its population. With 3,200 veterans, Miami County has the largest percentage of veterans – 9.0 percent – relative to its overall population.
InContext is published online every other month, offering substantive articles on the Indiana economy in context within the state and the nation. Also in this month’s issue is an analysis of job openings in Indiana and what they say about the state’s economy.