Data on service-connected disability- rating status and service-connected disability ratings were derived from answers to Questions 28a and 28b in 2019 American Community Survey.

People who indicated they had served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, military Reserves, or National Guard, or trained with the Reserves or National Guard or were now on active duty were asked to indicate whether or not they had a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) service-connected disability rating.

These disabilities are evaluated according to the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities in Title 38, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 4.

"Service-connected" means the disability was a result of disease or injury incurred or aggravated during active military service.

VA uses a priority system to allocate health care services among veterans enrolled in its programs. Data on service-connected disability status and ratings are used to measure the demand for VA health care services in local market areas across the country as well as to classify veterans into priority groups for VA health care enrollment.

Question/Concept History

This question was added to the American Community Survey in 2008. For more information, see "Evaluation Report Covering Service-Connected Disability" on the ACS website (http://census.gov).

Limitation of the Data

There may be a tendency for people to erroneously report having a 0 percent rating when they have no service-connected disability rating at all.

Comparability - The question was not asked in Census 2000. It was added to the ACS in 2008.

This question is asked of people who reported having a VA service-connected disability rating. These ratings are graduated according to degrees of disability on a scale from 0 to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percent. The ratings determine the amount of compensation payments made to the veterans. A zero-rating, which is different than having no rating at all, means a disability exists but it is not so disabling that it entitles the veteran to compensation payments.

VA uses a priority system to allocate health care services among veterans enrolled in its programs. Data on service-connected disability status and ratings are used to measure the demand for VA health care services in local market areas across the country as well as to classify veterans into priority groups for VA health care enrollment.

Question/Concept History

This question was added to the ACS in 2008. For more information, see "Evaluation Report Covering Service-Connected Disability" from the 2006 ACS Content Test. Go to https://data.census.gov and enter "2006 ACS Content Test Evaluation Report Covering Service-Connected Disability" in the search box.

Limitation of the Data

There may be a tendency for people to erroneously report having a 0 percent rating when they have no service-connected disability rating at all.

Comparability

The question was not asked in Census 2000. It was added to the ACS in 2008.