Veteran Demographics

Yakima County is home to approximately 11,526 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 the services and agencies to meet our veterans 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 37,085 homeless Veterans on any given night were counted in January 2019.

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 ad Indemnities
 Medical Care
 Unique Patients
18 560,200 12,859 $87,899 $46,322 $5,477 n/a $747 $35,353 3,555
Dollar amounts above represent millions! Example: $85,519 represents $85 million 519 thousand.

Additional Information


  • Expenditures rounded to the nearest thousand dollars. 1 = 500 to 1000
  • Reflected dollar values paid to individuals
  • Veteran Population is 6.3% of Yakima County (per FY09 analysis)

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


  • The Federal Veterans Administration provides Yakima County Veterans about $83 Million in total expenditures in 2016.
  • The Veterans and their financial entitlements provide the economy of Yakima County substantial funding.
  • Outreach to Veterans to inform, assist, and obtain their qualifying entitlements is greatly beneficial to the Veteran as well as our community.