‘Thank you for your service’ reaches fewer ears as US veteran population is half of a generation ago 

America’s veteran population has quietly halved in 25 years, shrinking to 18 million in a nation of 340 million, Pew Research reports. 

The number of living veterans is predicted to decline further in the next 25 years, with studies estimating a 34% decrease to 12.1 million veterans in 2048. Additionally, veteran demographics will shift to represent more women and more Hispanic and black veterans, as well as a younger median age by 2048, Pew reports. 

As of 2023: 

• 78% of living veterans served during wartime, and 22% served during peacetime. 

• More than 40% of veterans (7.8 million) served over the last 30 years during the Gulf War era (since August 1990).  

• Veterans from the Vietnam War era (1950-1973) compose about 30% of the total veteran population – about 5.6 million.  

• Only 4% of living veterans (767,000) served during the Korean conflict, and only 1% of living veterans (120,000) served during World War II. 

In 2000, 26.4 million veterans lived in the U.S., representing 12.7% of the total population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Today’s 6% total veteran population is one-third of the 18% from 1980. 

In step with the drop in the number of veterans, the number of active-duty service members has also declined. In 1968, 3.5 million people served as active-duty members. Today, just over 50 years after the draft ended in 1973, 1.3 million serve as active-duty members – less than 1% of all U.S. adults, according to Pew. 

This 1.3 million represents a small 1.5% increase from the previous year, according to another Pew report. Of these 1.3 million, about 450,000 serve in the Army – the largest of the military branches. The Navy follows, with about 334,000 members, and about 317,500 individuals serve in the Air Force.  

The Marine Corps has around 168,000 individuals. The Coast Guard and Space Force are the smallest of the service branches with 41,600 and 9,600, respectively. Active-duty military members serve in all 50 states, with Virginia and Texas having more than 100,000 each.  

Additionally, military representation in Congress has declined: 18% of representatives and 17% of senators are veterans. During the 2001 Congress, 27% of representatives and 37% of senators were veterans. The percentage of senators as veterans peaked at 81% in 1975, and representatives who were veterans peaked at 75% in 1967. 

While numbers of veterans have declined, Americans remain confident in the U.S. military. 

Nearly 8 in 10 (79%) say they have “confidence in the military to act in the public’s best interest,” according to a Pew survey from October 2024. Three-quarters of Americans (76%) say the U.S. is the world’s leading military power, and 63% say America should remain the only superpower. 

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) believe China poses a “major military threat” to the U.S., while 59% say Russia poses such a threat and 42% say Iran is a major threat. In response to these threats, 69% of Americans say America’s military strength makes the world safer. 

Older Americans, however, are far more likely to affirm this statement than younger Americans. For Americans 65 and older, 87% say America’s military makes the world safer, while only 54% of adults ages 18 to 34 say the same.