Veteran Demographics

Yakima County is home to approximately 11,274 Veterans, accounting for about 5% of the total population.

Newer Veterans


Many of our newer veterans are returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and facing challenges that raise concerns. Our resource page seeks to connect our veterans with services and agencies to meet their unique needs.

Statistics


National and Washington State statistics raise questions of how we are meeting the needs of our Veterans. To date:
  • 17 Veteran suicides per day in the United States

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reports that 37,252 homeless Veterans on any given night were counted in January 2020.

Distribution of VA Expenditures (GDX) to Yakima County Veterans

Year Washington State Total Veterans
 Yakima County Veteran Population
 Total Expenditure
 Compensation and Pensions
 Education and Vocational Rehabilitation / Employment
 General Operating Expenses
 Insurance and Indemnities
 Medical Care
 Unique Patients
20 554,533 11,274 $99,928 $53,972 $4,419 n/a $365 $41,173 3,531
Dollar amounts above represent millions! Example: $99,928 represents $99 million 928 thousand.

Additional Information


  • Expenditures rounded to the nearest thousand dollars. 1 = 500 to 1000
  • Reflected dollar values paid to individuals
  • Veterans account for about 5% of Yakima County's population

The Impact of Veteran Affair Funding (to individual Veterans not the County)


  • The Federal Veterans Administration provided Yakima County Veterans about $99 Million in total expenditures in 2020.
  • The $99 Million above goes directly to individual Veterans not to the Yakima County Veterans Program. 
  • The Veterans and their financial entitlements provide our local economy with substantial funding.
  • Outreach to Veterans to inform, assist, and obtain their qualifying entitlements is greatly beneficial to the Veterans as well as our community.