Although the nation's population of war veterans decreased in the past decade, the number living in Utah increased, according to a Memorial Day report released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Utah was one of a handful of states to see an increase of 10 percent or more in the veterans population between 1990 and 2000.
In 2000, there were 161,351 veterans living in the state — 10.7 percent of the civilian population 18 and older — up from 146,630 in 1990. Nationally, the number of veterans went from 27.5 million in 1990 to 26.4 million in 2000.
"It isn't surprising. Utah citizens have always contributed to the country's armed services at a very high rate," said Neil Ashdown, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.
Ashdown points to the fact that some 4,000 National Guard members and 1,500 reservists in Utah were activated for the war in Iraq.
"Utah had one of the largest active contingencies in the nation when measured by the percentage of population," he said.
The fact that more Guardsmen and reservists have been going into conflict in recent years also means a boost in veterans for Utah, considering the high number of professionals in the Guard or reserve, he said.
The bulk of Utah veterans — 31.7 percent — served in the Vietnam era. World War II vets were the second-largest group in the state with 22.1 percent, followed by Korean conflict veterans with 15.4 percent and Gulf War veterans, or those serving in active duty in August 1990 or later, who comprised 13.2 percent of all veterans.
Civilian veterans are defined by the census as anyone older than 18 who is currently not on active duty but who once served on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or as a Merchant Marine in World War II.
The national trend is for cities near military bases to have large concentrations of military veterans. Of cities with 100,000 or more residents, Hampton, Va., home of the nation's largest naval station at Norfolk, had the highest concentration of veterans, with nearly three in 10 adult civilians having once served in uniform, according to the census report. Other cities with high percentages of veterans include Clarksville, Tenn.; Fayetteville, N.C.; and Colorado Springs. Each had a veteran population of more than 20 percent.
In Utah, high percentages of veterans were found in small towns.
The area of Cache, a census-designated place in Cache County, has 55.6 percent veterans. Also in the top 20 most saturated veteran towns are Rockville, Kanab and Scipio.
Although the total number of veterans decreased, the number of women veterans increased nationally by about 500,000 to a total of 1.6 million, according to the census report.
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