Disability compensation, pensions and medical care were nine-tenths of the veterans line in 2025

Source. OMB Historical Tables, FY2027 edition (April 2026), Table 3.2; Table 10.1; BEA population via FRED; CBO, The Demographic Outlook: 2026 to 2056 (January 2026), Figure 1. Fiscal years 1962–2025, with OMB estimates to 2031.

Method and data

Method. Disability compensation and pensions (701) and medical care (703) are nine-tenths of the line; the GI Bill (702) peaks after each war. The line rose from $983 per resident in 2024 to $1,103 in 2025. OMB Table 3.2. FY2027–2031 per resident: OMB’s estimates divided by the 2026 population (342,739 thousand, the January–August 2026 average of Census monthly population, as in Exhibit 1) grown at CBO’s projected rates for the Social Security area population (CBO, The Demographic Outlook: 2026 to 2056, January 2026, Figure 1: 0.253%, 0.259%, 0.275%, 0.29%, 0.3%); a calculation from published figures. Each rate is CBO’s growth over one calendar year, so the 2026 rate gives FY2027 and so on to the 2030 rate for FY2031, each year rounded to the thousand before the next is grown: 343,606, 344,496, 345,443, 346,445 and 347,484 thousand.

Fiscal year (2026–31 OMB estimates)	Income (701)	Medical (703)	Education (702)	Housing (704)	Other (705)
1962	173	47	7	11	7
1963	179	49	4	−4	7
1964	172	51	3	2	7
1965	169	51	2	0	7
1966	163	51	2	7	7
1967	170	52	11	11	7
1968	167	52	17	8	8
1969	170	53	23	4	8
1970	176	57	32	2	8
1971	178	61	49	−5	9
1972	179	68	55	−9	9
1973	175	72	74	−10	9
1974	168	74	80	0	9
1975	175	81	101	1	10
1976	172	83	113	−1	12
1977	175	89	70	−2	10
1978	172	92	59	1	10
1979	174	90	44	3	10
1980	171	95	34	0	9
1981	170	92	29	3	8
1982	168	92	23	1	8
1983	165	96	19	0	8
1984	160	98	15	3	8
1985	157	101	11	2	8
1986	155	102	5	1	8
1987	150	103	4	3	7
1988	154	104	4	13	8
1989	151	104	4	8	7
1990	133	106	2	5	8
1991	141	107	3	1	8
1992	139	113	6	7	8
1993	137	114	6	10	7
1994	147	117	8	2	7
1995	137	118	8	2	7
1996	128	116	8	1	7
1997	139	116	8	−2	7
1998	142	116	7	6	6
1999	144	118	8	4	6
2000	156	122	8	2	6
2001	137	127	7	−5	7
2002	158	132	10	−6	7
2003	166	138	12	3	7
2004	171	149	14	−11	8
2005	191	154	15	5	10
2006	184	153	14	−6	14
2007	176	160	13	−4	15
2008	199	177	13	−2	19
2009	217	197	16	−3	22
2010	228	212	37	2	23
2011	265	225	48	6	29
2012	246	222	46	6	28
2013	282	225	55	6	27
2014	295	234	56	9	29
2015	313	253	55	3	30
2016	350	263	58	3	29
2017	339	274	52	−2	31
2018	327	283	47	−5	32
2019	378	300	49	−12	32
2020	404	333	47	−13	32
2021	411	354	43	−12	35
2022	461	365	39	5	34
2023	472	392	39	1	37
2024	487	418	41	−11	48
2025	587	435	48	3	30
2026	646	469	62	7	63
2027	702	503	68	2	43
2028	815	543	77	2	41
2029	743	542	70	2	38
2030	844	533	75	2	37
2031	884	525	75	2	37

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Higgins Strategy. “Disability compensation, pensions and medical care were nine-tenths of the veterans line in 2025” Exhibit 8, Every Dollar of War (Study IX). October 12, 2026. https://higginsstrategy.com/charts/09-veterans-by-subfunction-1962-2031/