COLUMBUS, Ga. - Muscogee County is home to an estimated 17,377 military veterans, representing 11.9% of its civilian adult population, or about 1 in 8 adults. Those veterans have a median annual income of $50,863, which is $19,230 higher than the $31,633 median for county residents who never served. The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey and offer a detailed look at the people who served in the military and now call Columbus home.

With Veterans Day approaching Wednesday, Nov. 11, the data provides a way to understand the county's veteran population beyond its overall size. Columbus has a larger share of veterans than Georgia, Florida or the nation as a whole. The numbers also show differences in age, income, poverty and disability that reveal a more complicated picture of veterans' economic circumstances.

Columbus Has a Higher Share of Veterans Than Georgia and the Nation

The Census Bureau estimates that Muscogee County has 146,014 civilian residents age 18 and older, including 17,377 veterans. That puts the county's veteran share at 11.9%, compared with 7.0% in Georgia and Florida and 5.9% nationwide. In other words, military veterans make up a substantially larger portion of Columbus's adult civilian population than they do across the country.

These figures cover civilian adults, not everyone living in the area. Fort Benning sits next to Columbus, but active-duty soldiers stationed there are not included in these veteran counts. The county estimate also carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2,258 veterans, meaning the survey provides an estimate rather than an exact head count.

Nearly 1 in 5 Columbus Veterans Are Women

Men account for most of Muscogee County's veteran population, with an estimated 14,019 having served. Another 3,358 veterans are women, representing approximately 19% of all veterans in the county. That female share is higher than both Georgia's statewide figure of approximately 14% and the national figure of approximately 11%.

Georgia has an estimated 84,130 women veterans, while the United States has approximately 1,744,824. Columbus's higher percentage means women make up a larger portion of its veteran community, even though men remain the majority. The local estimate for women veterans has a margin of error of plus or minus 1,153, so the percentage should not be treated as an exact measurement.

More Than 7,000 Veterans Are 65 or Older

Muscogee County's veteran population spans several generations, with substantial numbers in both younger and older age groups. The largest single group is veterans ages 35 to 54, with 5,231 residents, followed by those ages 65 to 74, with 4,206. Together, veterans age 65 and older account for 7,094 people, approximately 41% of the county's total veteran population.

The age distribution shows that veterans are not concentrated in just one generation. An estimated 2,127 are younger than 35, while 2,888 are at least 75 years old. This broad age range matters when examining the county's poverty and disability figures because the Census Bureau reports different patterns for working-age veterans and those 65 and older.

Nearly Half Served During the Period Since September 2001

An estimated 8,221 Muscogee County veterans, approximately 47% of the total, served at some point since September 2001. This includes 6,326 who served only during that period, 1,757 who served in both Gulf War eras and another 138 whose service also included the Vietnam era. Other veterans served during earlier conflicts or exclusively during periods between major war eras.

The following breakdown separates veterans into nonoverlapping service categories, so each person appears only once. It includes veterans with service across multiple periods rather than placing everyone into a single war-era category. The numbers reflect the Census Bureau's estimated veteran population living in Muscogee County.

The largest group consists of people whose military service occurred only after September 2001. However, the 3,132 veterans who served during the peacetime period between the Vietnam and Gulf War eras also represent a substantial portion of the county's veteran population. The breakdown shows that Columbus's veteran community includes residents whose service experiences span many different periods.

Veterans Earn $19,230 More Than Nonveterans

The Census Bureau estimates that Muscogee County veterans with income have a median annual income of $50,863. Nonveterans have a median of $31,633, creating a difference of $19,230. The comparison includes civilian adults age 18 and older who reported income during the preceding 12 months.

Veterans in Columbus have a lower estimated median income than veterans statewide or nationally, despite earning more than local nonveterans. Women veterans in Muscogee County have a median income of $51,919, compared with $27,025 for women who are not veterans. The countywide veteran income estimate has a margin of error of plus or minus $7,723, while the nonveteran estimate has a margin of error of plus or minus $1,996.

The median represents the middle of the income distribution, not what every veteran earns. These figures show an income difference between groups but do not establish that military service caused that difference. They also do not mean that all veterans are financially secure, as the county's poverty estimates illustrate.

Working-Age Veteran Poverty Is Higher Than the State Rate

Among Muscogee County veterans ages 18 to 64, the Census Bureau estimates that 2,191 of 10,060 live below the poverty level, or 21.8%. That compares with 18.2% of nonveterans in the same age range, representing 18,296 of 100,486 residents. The local working-age veteran poverty estimate is also roughly three times Georgia's 6.8% and the national figure of 7.1%.

The pattern reverses among older residents, where an estimated 921 of 7,021 veterans age 65 and older live below the poverty level. That represents 13.1%, compared with 18.2% for nonveterans in the same age group. These comparisons show why the higher overall veteran median income does not tell the entire story of economic hardship.

The working-age veteran poverty estimate carries a wide margin of error because it comes from a survey of a relatively small county population. It should therefore be viewed as a signal of possible economic hardship rather than a precise count of people living in poverty. The apparent difference between Columbus and the statewide rate is substantial, but the survey's uncertainty limits how precisely that difference can be measured.

Disability Rates Also Show a Wide Gap

The Census Bureau estimates that 3,855 of Muscogee County's 10,060 veterans ages 18 to 64 have a disability, representing 38.3%. Among nonveterans in that age range, 15,247 of 100,486 have a disability, or 15.2%. The estimated disability rate among working-age veterans is therefore more than twice the rate among their nonveteran neighbors.

Of the 3,855 working-age veterans with disabilities, 1,120 are estimated to live below the poverty level, while 2,735 are above it. Those figures provide additional context for the county's veteran poverty estimates. They show that disability and poverty affect overlapping portions of the veteran population, although the figures do not establish what caused either condition.

What the Numbers Mean for Columbus

Taken together, the estimates show a community with a relatively large veteran population and several distinct economic patterns. Veterans generally report higher median incomes than nonveterans, but the estimated poverty rate among working-age veterans remains elevated. Older veterans show a different pattern, with a lower poverty rate than nonveterans age 65 and older.

The numbers also highlight the county's diverse veteran population, including women, younger adults, older residents and people who served during different military periods. Nearly half served at some point since September 2001, while about 41% are already 65 or older. Those two figures illustrate the wide range of generations represented among Muscogee County's veterans.

How We Did This

The Columbus Times used the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey one-year estimates, specifically tables B21001, B21002, B21004 and C21007, retrieved through Census Reporter on Oct. 25, 2026. The figures cover the civilian population age 18 and older in Muscogee County, meaning active-duty military personnel are excluded from the veteran totals. All figures are survey estimates with margins of error, and comparisons involving smaller groups, particularly working-age veterans living in poverty, should be interpreted with appropriate caution.