WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of retirement-friendliness toward veterans. The data set ranges from job opportunities for veterans to housing affordability to quality of VA hospitals.
Source: WalletHub
Source: WalletHub
Best States for Military Retirees
Overall Rank | State | Total Score | Economic Environment | Quality of Life | Health Care |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Florida | 61.14 | 6 | 3 | 19 |
2 | South Carolina | 60.82 | 15 | 2 | 9 |
3 | Virginia | 60.45 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
4 | Minnesota | 59.22 | 18 | 36 | 1 |
5 | Connecticut | 57.78 | 35 | 21 | 2 |
6 | New Hampshire | 57.47 | 14 | 8 | 12 |
7 | Maryland | 57.31 | 23 | 1 | 29 |
8 | South Dakota | 56.99 | 13 | 25 | 7 |
9 | North Carolina | 56.51 | 5 | 16 | 21 |
10 | North Dakota | 55.11 | 1 | 28 | 30 |
11 | Alaska | 54.87 | 10 | 10 | 35 |
12 | Alabama | 54.60 | 3 | 17 | 37 |
13 | Oklahoma | 54.05 | 8 | 6 | 43 |
14 | Louisiana | 53.89 | 11 | 27 | 22 |
15 | Wyoming | 53.56 | 9 | 4 | 50 |
16 | Arizona | 52.98 | 21 | 7 | 38 |
17 | Missouri | 52.92 | 22 | 22 | 23 |
18 | Massachusetts | 52.88 | 26 | 49 | 4 |
19 | Michigan | 52.82 | 19 | 40 | 8 |
20 | Montana | 52.54 | 25 | 18 | 24 |
21 | Kansas | 52.34 | 37 | 20 | 10 |
22 | Arkansas | 52.27 | 24 | 23 | 25 |
23 | Pennsylvania | 52.10 | 41 | 38 | 5 |
24 | Ohio | 51.94 | 30 | 41 | 6 |
25 | Idaho | 50.90 | 40 | 19 | 15 |
26 | West Virginia | 50.62 | 7 | 44 | 34 |
27 | New Jersey | 50.37 | 31 | 14 | 36 |
28 | Kentucky | 50.17 | 28 | 35 | 16 |
29 | Utah | 49.67 | 2 | 34 | 49 |
30 | Hawaii | 49.65 | 38 | 11 | 39 |
31 | Illinois | 49.48 | 34 | 39 | 11 |
32 | Texas | 49.31 | 27 | 31 | 33 |
33 | Delaware | 49.22 | 48 | 12 | 14 |
34 | Indiana | 48.71 | 20 | 43 | 32 |
35 | Colorado | 48.61 | 44 | 15 | 27 |
36 | Iowa | 48.37 | 17 | 32 | 41 |
37 | Wisconsin | 48.30 | 46 | 29 | 13 |
38 | New York | 48.19 | 50 | 47 | 3 |
39 | Maine | 48.03 | 36 | 37 | 20 |
40 | Nebraska | 47.44 | 47 | 26 | 18 |
41 | Rhode Island | 46.95 | 12 | 46 | 42 |
42 | Georgia | 46.85 | 32 | 24 | 44 |
43 | Tennessee | 46.03 | 16 | 48 | 40 |
44 | California | 45.63 | 51 | 9 | 28 |
45 | New Mexico | 45.17 | 43 | 13 | 47 |
46 | Washington | 43.17 | 33 | 30 | 51 |
47 | Vermont | 42.01 | 49 | 42 | 31 |
48 | Mississippi | 41.91 | 45 | 33 | 46 |
49 | Nevada | 41.67 | 39 | 45 | 48 |
50 | District of Columbia | 41.63 | 29 | 50 | 45 |
51 | Oregon | 38.73 | 42 | 51 | 26 |
Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
Military Retirement in Georgia (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- 29th – Veterans per Capita
- 24th – Number of VA Health Facilities per Number of Veterans
- 17th – % of Homeless Veterans
- 38th – Veteran Job Opportunities
- 29th – Housing Affordability
- 24th – Number of VA Benefits-Administration Facilities per Number of Veterans
- 41st – Quality of VA Hospitals
Memorial Day Facts
- 97 – Number of members of the 118th Congress who have served in the U.S. military, only the 4th time in the last 50 years with an increase at all in the total veterans elected.
- 3.4M – Number of people expected to travel by plane over Memorial Day weekend (up 11% over 2022).
- 818 – Number of hot dogs consumed every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day (seven billion total).
- 15 to 80 Percent Off – Discount shoppers can expect during Memorial Day weekend sales.
- 100M+ – Number of households worldwide that will watch the National Memorial Day parade broadcast on TV.