Many Veterans who rely on VA for their health care live in remote areas. Providing comprehensive, high-quality health care to these Veterans is a challenge, as Veterans are statistically more likely to live in rural areas than non-Veterans.
As of 2026, approximately 19% of the civilian population lives in Rural areas, whereas that percentage is around 25% for Veterans. According to ORH, 4.7 million Veterans live in rural communities across the United States, and more than 2.8 million rural Veterans rely on VA for their health care.
More than half (56%) of rural Veterans enrolled in VA health care are 65 years old or older. In addition, 8% are women; 15% report being members of racial and ethnic minorities; and nearly 460,000 are Veterans of the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 18% of rural Veterans have one or more service-related disabilities.
Additional challenges facing Rural Veteran populations:
- Low Income – (52% have annual incomes of less than $35,000).
- Access to modern care options – around 27% do not access the internet at home.
- Long travel distances to access quality health care.
- Fewer health care providers and nurses per capita in rural areas.
Office of Rural Health
VA is concerned about the special needs of Veterans who live in rural areas, and this is a top priority in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). VA’s Office of Rural Health (ORH) is a part of the Veterans Health Administration and their mission is to improve access and quality of care for enrolled rural and highly rural Veterans by developing evidence-based policies and innovative practices to support the unique needs of enrolled Veterans residing in geographically remote areas.
Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers
Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers (VRHRCs) are Office of Rural Health (ORH) field-based satellite offices that serve as hubs of rural health care research, innovation, and dissemination. Congressional mandate 38 USC § 7308 defines the VRHRCs’ mission to:
- Improve understanding of the challenges faced by Veterans living in rural areas
- Identify disparities in the availability of health care to Veterans living in rural areas
- Formulate practices or programs to enhance the delivery of health care to Veterans living in rural areas
- Develop special practices and products for the benefit of Veterans living in rural areas and for implementation of such practices and products in the Department system-wide
Located at host U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers in Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Iowa City, Iowa; Gainesville, Florida; and White River Junction, Vermont.
