Veterans Disability Compensation in California

Public VA data, reported as published. Figures below come from VA's "Disability Compensation Recipients by County" files (data.va.gov), fiscal years 2019 and 2025. VA did not publish county files for 2021 or 2022. Counts under 10 are suppressed by VA and shown as "under 10".

In fiscal year 2025, 502,173 veterans in California received VA disability compensation, a +11.7% change from 449,551 in 2019. 30.4% of them are rated 100% (up from 16.2% in 2019), and 55,475 are women (44,836 in 2019).

502,173
Recipients (FY2025)
+11.7%
Change since 2019
30.4%
Rated 100% (FY2025)

Rating levels in California, 2019 vs 2025

Share of California compensation recipients at each combined-rating level. Nationwide, the share rated 100% roughly doubled over this period; see the shift toward higher ratings for the full story.

0% to 20%
20.1% (was 27.3% in 2019)
30% to 40%
9.8% (was 14.9% in 2019)
50% to 60%
10.7% (was 14.3% in 2019)
70% to 90%
29% (was 27.3% in 2019)
100%
30.4% (was 16.2% in 2019)

Shares are computed over recipients whose rating band VA reported (small counts are suppressed). What each level pays: benefits by rating.

Who they are

Of California's FY2025 recipients with a reported age, 34% are 17 to 44, 30% are 45 to 64, and 36% are 65 or older. 55,475 are women and 446,551 are men.

California has 921 VA-accredited VSO representatives recorded in the free directory, about 18.34 per 10,000 compensation recipients. See VSO representatives in California.

Recipients by county

Every California county VA reported for FY2025, with the FY2019 comparison where the same county existed. "Rated 100%" is that county's share of recipients at the 100% level. "VSO reps" is the count of VA-accredited VSO representatives whose listed ZIP code falls in that county, an approximate, ZIP-based measure; many representatives serve neighboring counties too.

CountyFY2019FY2025ChangeRated 100%VSO reps
San Diego91,30298,159+7.5%36%90
Los Angeles67,87373,230+7.9%28.9%116
Riverside34,26750,395+47.1%38.9%32
San Bernardino27,37432,294+18%31.3%107
Orange25,88926,492+2.3%27.5%31
Sacramento20,70422,835+10.3%26%32
Solano12,30113,981+13.7%31.7%14
Kern11,53313,536+17.4%25.7%10
Fresno11,28012,882+14.2%23.9%21
Ventura9,73412,095+24.3%30.8%36
Contra Costa10,22511,188+9.4%28.7%20
Alameda11,65810,203-12.5%26.6%36
Santa Clara11,2359,813-12.7%26.8%27
San Joaquin7,4459,131+22.6%28.2%20
Placer5,7948,796+51.8%26.4%10
Stanislaus5,2016,048+16.3%24.4%17
Santa Barbara5,8026,034+4%27.5%18
Tulare5,0645,929+17.1%20.4%7
Monterey6,1685,683-7.9%26.5%10
Sonoma5,0785,304+4.5%27.4%4
Shasta3,7324,575+22.6%24.5%28
San Luis Obispo3,7824,461+18%24.4%19
San Francisco5,0664,333-14.5%30.5%20
San Mateo4,6184,240-8.2%30.1%5
Kings4,0424,195+3.8%28%15
Butte3,3493,769+12.5%23.8%10
El Dorado2,8663,767+31.4%23.4%14
Merced2,7593,020+9.5%22.5%4
Madera1,8812,600+38.2%23.5%4
Yolo2,1942,563+16.8%24.4%3
Yuba2,2782,546+11.8%28.9%16
Imperial2,0262,544+25.6%29.4%6
Santa Cruz2,1822,230+2.2%26.5%6
Nevada1,7512,146+22.6%24.5%10
Napa1,6912,035+20.3%27.3%11
Humboldt1,9982,032+1.7%24.3%3
Sutter1,8201,890+3.8%25%0
Marin1,6901,711+1.2%26.3%7
Lake1,4291,517+6.2%29.7%8
Tehama1,0201,369+34.2%23.8%4
Mendocino1,2771,349+5.6%24.9%3
Calaveras8241,205+46.2%25.9%8
Tuolumne1,0711,173+9.5%24.6%8
Amador7221,074+48.8%21.7%3
Siskiyou8391,006+19.9%21.5%4
San Benito633892+40.9%29.1%2
Lassen594741+24.7%23.6%2
Del Norte531591+11.3%22.7%2
Plumas454489+7.7%20.2%4
Mariposa351430+22.5%21.2%0
Trinity228339+48.7%26.3%5
Glenn331333+0.6%19.2%1
Inyo312294-5.8%23.5%0
Colusa202247+22.3%17.4%3
Modoc156201+28.8%25.9%2
Mono162157-3.1%26.1%1
Sierra4967+36.7%17.9%1
Alpine1114+27.3%n/a0