Year 2015

New Resources Give Americans Tools to Discover Situation of Veterans in Their Communities

Housing Assistance Council developed tools with support from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Washington, D.C., Nov. 19, 2015. – While the nation honors those who have served our country on Veterans Day, few Americans know much about the veterans living alongside them. Two new tools put the power of discovering more about the veteran community in the hands of everyday Americans. These resources, developed by the Housing Assistance Council, with support from JPMorgan Chase & Co., will help veterans’ organizations, policymakers, researchers and anyone interested in veterans’ needs see how veterans are doing in every state and county.

  • VETERANS DATA CENTRAL. An extensive data utility that provides detailed information on the situation of veterans down to the level of every U.S. county. Included are demographic and economic indicators, housing characteristics, VA housing and mortgage finance information, and veteran homelessness. The site provides approximately 420 veteran-specific data indicators and over 650,000 data points dedicated solely to information on veterans. The site is available at www.veteransdata.info.
  • SUPPORTING VETERANS IN YOUR STATE. A set of fact sheets — one for each state, the District of Columbia, and the US — provides details on the veterans’ population including proportion, prevalence by county, median income, poverty levels, unemployment rate, disability, median home value, housing problems, homelessness, and other factors. These data sheets are available at www.veteransdata.info.

“The more we know about our Veterans, the better we’re able to support them,” said Ross Brown, Director of Military and Veterans Affairs, JPMorgan Chase & Co. “With the resources developed by HAC, we have a much deeper understanding of Veterans economic and social needs. This information will go a long way to supporting JPMorgan Chase’s longstanding and ongoing commitment to Veterans.”

“Often we seem to lack useful and complete details on the status of American veterans,” said Moises Loza, HAC’s Executive Director. “These new resources will help. HAC is proud to partner with JPMorgan Chase and The Home Depot Foundation in our work to support the nation’s veterans, who are disproportionately residents of rural America.”

The information released today is based on HAC’s analysis of extensive data from a wide range of sources. Just a few examples of some of the data show that:

  • The largest populations of veterans are in California (at 1.89 million), Texas (1.58 million), Florida (1.57 million), Pennsylvania (943,000), and New York (912,000).
  • The highest proportions of veterans by state population are in Alaska (13.8 %), Montana (12.2 %), Maine (12.0 %), Virginia (11.9 %), and Wyoming (11.8 %)
  • The highest median incomes for veterans are in Maryland ($80,733), Alaska ($78,400), Virginia ($76,900), Hawaii ($76,600), and Washington, DC ($70,516). The lowest incomes are in West Virginia ($44,246), Arkansas ($47,182), Montana ($48,021), Mississippi ($49,279), and Kentucky ($49,721).
  • The District of Columbia (at 10.4 %), Mississippi (9.4 %), Montana (9.0 %), Arkansas (8.8 %), and New Mexico (8.5 %) have the highest veterans’ poverty rates. The lowest poverty rates – all below 5 % – are in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

Both tools are available for use by policymakers, researchers and the general public from HAC at www.veteransdata.info. Supported by JPMorgan Chase & Co., these new resources are part of the Housing Assistance Council’s Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans Initiative.

The Home Depot Foundation is also a major supporter of HAC’s Veterans Initiative. Thanks to The Home Depot Foundation and JPMorgan Chase, HAC provides grants, training, research, loans, and other assistance to rural nonprofits that serve veterans. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., HAC is a national nonprofit dedicated to helping local rural organizations build affordable homes by providing below-market financing, technical assistance, research, training, and information services. To learn more, visit www.ruralhome.org.