Demographic, social, and economic data on veterans are collected in several U.S. Census Bureau surveys. These data are used for policy analysis, program planning, and budgeting of veteran programs.

The first data on veterans to be published by the US government were based on an inquiry in the 1840 census, which asked the name, age, and place of residence of pensioners of the Revolutionary War. Prior to the Civil War, most interest in the number of veterans was for pension purposes. It was the expansion of veterans benefits in the early 1900s and the huge influx of veterans at the end of WWII that increased the importance of decennial census data on veterans. Veterans’ questions have appeared on every decennial census form since 1910, with the exception of 1920. The 1940 decennial census was the first year that included a statistical sample in which a percentage of the population received a longer, more detailed census form. From 1940 until the 2000 census, questions of veteran’s status and period of service were included on the long form. The 1980 decennial census marked the first time that information on women veterans was collected. At the time of the 1980 census, women made up less than 4 percent of the total veteran population; today they make up about 10 percent.

The 1980 census was the first to collect data on female veterans. Before 1980, only men were counted as veterans. Starting with Census 2010, veteran status is no longer collected on the decennial census questionnaire, except in the Island Areas.

Today, the U.S. Census Bureau collects demographic, social, and economic data on veterans of the Armed Forces using three national surveys: American Community Survey (ACS), Current Population Survey (CPS), and Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The Annual Business Survey (ABS) provides the only comprehensive, regularly collected source of information on selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners by sex, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. Access Census Survey Explorer or data.census.gov for more information.