California 41 in Best States for Military Retirees

2024’s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees

California is ranked low for military retirees due to its unfavorable economic environment and high cost of living, Cassandra Happe, analyst and communications manager told Uken Report.

“This is primarily because the state’s tax policies do not exempt military pensions (ranked 51st), it has a low share of veteran-owned businesses (46th), and housing is unaffordable (51st). Despite having a high number of VA health facilities (2nd) and positive quality of life metrics such as a top-ranked public university system and excellent weather, these positives are outweighed by significant challenges like a high veteran homelessness rate (48th),” Happe said,

It’s important to note that California’s ranking has actually improved compared to 2023, moving from 44th last year (not 8th) to 41st, she said. “This improvement, however, is not significant and is mainly attributed to slight enhancements in economic metrics. The state still faces persistent issues such as job opportunities for veterans and high living costs.”

Military families are accustomed to moving, but when it comes time to retire, it can be difficult to decide where to put down roots. For example, veterans must consider state tax policies on military benefits, along with the relative friendliness of different job markets and other socioeconomic factors, when choosing a state in which to settle down. Many retirees also face major struggles including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, disability and homelessness.

To help ease the burden on our nation’s military community, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on their ability to provide a comfortable military retirement. Their analysis uses a data set of 28 key metrics, ranging from veterans per capita to the number of VA health facilities to job opportunities for veterans.

“Transitioning from military to civilian life isn’t easy, but the best states for military retirees make that adjustment as smooth as possible,” Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst, said. “In addition to providing the conditions necessary for our veterans to thrive financially, they also have ample resources for taking care of military retirees’ physical and mental health.”

In-Depth Look at the Best States for Military Retirees

South Carolina

South Carolina is the best state for military retirees, in part because it has many policies in place to help veterans. The state allows businesses to give preferential hiring to veterans, offers academic credit for military service, and has veteran treatment courts, which give services like treatment and mentoring to veterans in the criminal justice system. South Carolina doesn’t tax military pensions, either.

The Palmetto State has the fourth-best VA hospitals in the country, and the third-most hospitals per capita, which can help ensure that military retirees stay healthy. In addition, South Carolina has the seventh-most veterans per capita and the fourth-most veteran-owned businesses per capita, which indicates that military retirees have good social and business opportunities.

Finally, South Carolina has the sixth-best job growth rate in the country, so veterans may find it easy to get work after their service if they choose to.

Florida

Florida is the second-best state for military retirees, in part because it has a large number of VA health facilities and VA Benefits Administration facilities per capita. The state is also a great place for veterans to continue their education after their military service is done, as Florida has the fifth-best colleges and universities in the country, and it gives academic credit for military service.

The Sunshine State is a good place for military retirees’ finances, too. Florida does not tax military pensions, and it has the ninth-lowest tax rates overall. It also has the fourth-best average annual job growth rate.

To top things off, Florida allows employers to give preference to veterans when hiring and has veteran treatment courts.

Virginia

Virginia is the third-best state for military retirees, and it boasts the second-highest share of veteran-owned businesses, at over 8%. This is partly due to the fact that veterans make up over 8% of the population in general, the third-highest share in the country. In addition, Virginia has the third-greatest amount of funding contracts from the Department of Defense per capita.

Old Dominion takes care of its military retirees, too. It has the third-lowest veteran homelessness rate in the country, at just 0.05%, along with the tenth-lowest veteran suicide rate. Virginia also has the fourth-most mental health counselors per capita, which makes it easier for struggling veterans to find someone to help them.

Finally, Virginia has a number of policies in place to help veterans, such as programs that help them transition from the military back to civilian life. Virginia also allows veterans to be preferred in hiring, has veteran treatment courts and provides academic credit for military service.

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst states for military retirement, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: 1) Economic Environment, 2) Quality of Life and 3) Health Care.

It evaluated those dimensions using 28 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for military retirees. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we measured the “number of veterans” by the square root of the veteran population in order to avoid overcompensating for small differences among states, considering Veterans Administration (VA) facilities have not increased proportionally with the number of veterans.

It then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.