released by The Graduate Center at the City University of New York earlier this month<\/a>, cuts against public perception of veterans struggling to adjust to post-military life. Researchers examined a decade of economic and demographic trends among veterans who served during the post-Sept. 11 era, and found that generally \u201cthe news is good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cOn the whole, 9\/11 era veterans performed well above the national average in most socio-economic categories,\u201d the report stated. \u201cThe data indicate that between 2005 and 2015 employment, income, and educational attainment rates were consistently higher, and poverty rates consistently lower, than general nationwide rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn short, there is considerable evidence here to affirm that serving in the armed forces continues to have a direct correlation with greater socio-economic success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war-era veterans more than doubled over the course of the study time frame, from about 1.5 million in 2005 to almost 3.2 million in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite a national recession during that period, veterans from the group showed a near-constant employment rate of about 78 percent, significantly above the 70 percent of the total civilian population. Those trends held true across gender and racial groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researchers said income for the younger veterans also showed significant advances over their civilian peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The median household income for post-Sept. 11 veterans was nearly $74,000 a year in 2005, almost $7,000 more than the non-veteran average. In 2015 the difference was even more pronounced: The veterans average reached $80,000, while the non-veterans rate only rose to $68,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese data appear to be clear indicators that military service is a path to economic success that is, quite literally, above average,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The analysis also found that young veterans also have lower poverty rates and higher levels of education than their civilian peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearly one in eight young adults in America did not graduate from high school, but only one in 33 veterans failed to reach that level, according to the report data. Nearly half of all young veterans (47 percent) earned a college degree, while only 37 percent of their peers did.<\/p>\n\n\n\t