While the U.S. is supposed to guarantee military members housing, healthcare and educational support when they return from service, the quality of care and security can differ from state to state and city to city.
Nearly 20 million veterans live in the U.S., with over 30,000 who experienced homelessness, according to the Veterans Association. While there has been an 11% decrease in homeless veterans since 2020, there is still more work that needs to be done, says Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at WalletHub, a personal finance management resource. WalletHub recently ranked 100 cities in the U.S., scoring each location out of 100 points based on factors like veteran homelessness, housing affordability, healthcare access and available military discounts.
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"Veterans often have to face a number of challenges when re-entering civilian lives — the results of the report show the best places in which they can settle down," says Gonzalez. "Although all cities should prioritize taking care of veterans' needs, some dedicate more resources to this than others. Sadly, homelessness and poverty are ongoing issues for veterans and not all cities are able to provide assistance for them."
The highest score went to Raleigh, North Carolina, with approximately 71 points. Gonzalez notes that WalletHub did not find the relatively low scores surprising. Still, the lowest score, which went to Detroit with nearly 29 points, speaks to the gap in resources.
Here are the 10 best cities for veterans to live in, according to
