Rural America has always been home to many of America’s veterans. That’s still true today, but the percentage of veterans living in small towns and ag communities is dropping, reports The Daily Yonder.
The reason? Older generations are dying off, while younger generations are more likely than to live in bigger cities. From 2007 to 2014, the percentage of veterans who live in rural areas decreased noticeably.
With veterans of conflicts like WWII and Korea, the drop can be explained by the deaths of many of these soldiers. But with veterans of more recent conflicts, like the Second Gulf War, the discrepancy can be attributed to generational differences. Younger Americans simply seem to prefer urban living. In the seven-year period from 2007 to 2014, the percentage of Second Gulf War veterans who live in rural areas declined from 16.2 of all veterans of that war to 13.4 percent.