5 best, 5 worst cities for veterans

It’s a big adjustment, moving from military to civilian life, and there are plenty of obstacles to a smooth transition.

Sometimes it’s tough—or impossible—once their service ends to get the government benefits that were promised on enlistment—everything from health care to housing, employment and educational assistance.

All too many of our military are denied disability benefits or can’t find jobs or even a place to live, as promises made become promises broken.

Also all too often it can have a lot to do with where a veteran lives.

Problems like homelessness and unemployment are rampant in some parts of the country, and there are plenty of barriers to such vital elements as mental health care, and access to veterans’ hospitals.

Waiting times border on the obscene, with the average wait in Phoenix to see a mental health professional standing at 115 days, despite a $10 billion effort to expand veterans’ access to such care.

WalletHub took a look at the situation to see which cities might provide a more veteran-friendly atmosphere. Its analysts compared the 100 largest U.S. cities across across four key dimensions: employment, economy, quality of life and health.

Data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Council for Community and Economic Research, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. News & World Report and WalletHub research.

Using 17 key indicators spanning livability, affordability and veteran-friendliness, they evaluated where each city stands with regard to the availability of VA health facilities, how prevalent military skill-related jobs are, the veteran unemployment rate, veteran income growth and the share of the veteran population living below the poverty level.

Among the cities WalletHub explored, the following turned out to be the 5 best and the 5 worst cities for veterans.

5 Best Cities for Veterans

5. Plano, Texas.

Plano’s overall score of 67.58 reflects a jobs rank of 8, an economy rank at a less-than-welcoming 61, a quality of life rank of 7 and a health rank of 24.

Sadly, Plano doesn’t do much for working veterans to boost their income; it finished 99^th for having the lowest veteran income growth. But ironically, it finished 4^th for having the lowest percentage of veterans in poverty.

4. Raleigh, North Carolina.

Finishing with a score of 67.86, Raleigh had a respectable jobs rank of 10 and even better economy (3) and quality of life (5) ranks. When it comes to health, though, it dropped to 69—the lowest among the top 5.

3. Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Virginia Beach scored 68.36 overall, owing most of its third-place finish to two factors: its economy (rank of 1) and its quality of life (rank of 2—but then you might expect that from a place with “beach” in its name). Neither jobs nor health did anywhere near as well, with the former only meriting a rank of 38 and the latter doing even worse, at 52.

Virginia Beach is one of five cities tied for having the highest veteran population, along with Colorado Springs, Colorado; Norfolk, Virginia; Chesapeake, Virginia; and Jacksonville, Florida. It also has the fewest homeless veterans per veteran population.

2. Colorado Springs, Colorado.

This city’s total score of 72.29 owes a lot to its first-place rank on quality of life. For jobs, it scored 16, while for economy it warranted a 6—but for health, it fell way down the scale to 44.

The city is in a six-way tie for first place for having the lowest veteran unemployment rate—its companions in this happy tie are Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Seattle, Washington; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Santa Ana, California. It’s also in that five-way tie for first place for having the highest veteran population.

1. Austin, Texas.

With a total score of 73.81, Austin topped the list as the most veteran-friendly city. Its jobs rank of 4, economy rank of 5 and quality of life rank of 8 placed it higher on the list than its health rank of 24.

Austin is appropriately enough, as mentioned before, tied for first place with five other cities for having the lowest veteran unemployment rate.

5 Worst Cities for Veterans

5. Memphis, Tennessee.

No matter how much a veteran may want to be able to hang out on Beale Street, he or she would be well advised not to, or they’d end up singing the blues. Memphis has an overall score of 39.65, reflecting a jobs rank of 61, an economy rank of 69, a quality of life rank of 90 and a health rank of 94.

4. Hialeah, Florida.

Overall, Hialeah scored 37.36, with a jobs rank of 92, an economy rank of 96, and a quality of life rank of 92. Its sole redeeming rank was health, at 15—a surprise considering how low it came in in all three other categories. Pretty much a race to the bottom.

Hialeah did particularly badly when it came to military skill-related jobs, placing 96 out of 100. And if that’s not enough to scare you away from this particular track, it finished at the absolute bottom for the lowest veteran income growth. But it’s apparently worked, because vets venturing there won’t find many of their buddies; it also finished in 100^th place for having the lowest veteran population.

3. Baltimore, Maryland.

Sadly, Baltimore finished with an overall score of 34.12, thanks to a jobs rank of 97, an economy rank of 95, a quality of life rank of 96 and a health rank of 37—at least the ravens won’t be picking at them right away.

Baltimore, incidentally, was tied for 91^st place (with Lexington, Kentucky; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Newark, New Jersey; Orlando, Florida; and Irvine, California) for having the highest veteran unemployment rate. And it’s also in 100^th place for having the highest number of veterans living in poverty.

2. Newark, New Jersey.

Its overall score comes in at 31.74, reflecting Newark’s challenges: a jobs rank of 99, an economy rank of 72, a quality of life rank of 100 and a health rank of 50.

Newark also, as mentioned above, was in a 6-way tie for 91^st place for having the highest veteran unemployment rate. But if vets get a job, they apparently can do well here—the city placed second in the country for highest veteran income growth rate.

1. Detroit, Michigan.

Detroit finished in last place with an overall score of 26.94. It scored, as one might expect, poorly in every category, with a rank of 89 in jobs, 93 in economy, 99 in quality of life and 95 in health.

It also ranked 89^th for having the most homeless veterans per veteran population.