With May being Military Appreciation Month and Memorial Day approaching, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on 2025’s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees, along with its Memorial Day Facts infographic and expert commentary.
To help our troops plan their years after service, 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 the quality of VA hospitals.
Military Retirement in California (1=Best; 25=Avg.)
Overall Rank: 40th
49th – Veterans per Capita
2nd – Number of VA Health Facilities per Number of Veterans
49th – Percentage of Homeless Veterans
44th – Veteran Job Opportunities
50th – Housing Affordability
45th – Percentage of Veteran-Owned Businesses
1st – Number of VA Benefits-Administration Facilities per Number of Veterans
40th – Quality of VA Hospitals
Memorial Day Facts
100 – Members of the 119th Congress have served in the U.S. military, only the fifth time in the last 50 years with an increase at all in the total veterans elected.
100M+ – Households worldwide will watch the National Memorial Day parade broadcast on TV.
3.6M – People are expected to travel by plane over Memorial Day weekend (up two percent over 2024).
818 – Number of hot dogs consumed every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day (seven billion total).
20 to 85 Percent Off – Discount shoppers can expect during Memorial Day weekend sales.
“Transitioning from military to civilian life isn’t easy, but the best states for military retirees make that adjustment as smooth as possible. 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,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst. “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. In addition, the Palmetto State has the third-best VA hospitals in the country, and the second-most veteran-owned businesses per capita.”
Maryland took number two on the list, with New Hampshire, North Dakota and Virginia rounding out the top five ‘best’ states for military retirees. Last on the list was Oregon while California was also far down the list, coming in at number 40 overall.
For the full report, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-military-retirees/3915
Expert Commentary
What should veterans consider when choosing where to retire?
“This is an easy one: whether or not there is a sizable community of veterans there. There is extensive research that veterans do not thrive when they are “isolated” among civilians who cannot relate to their experiences. Veterans can often find something in common with other veterans, and so should look whether there are veteran organizations or place specific social media. Aside from looking at cost-of-living factors, I would also recommend looking around universities and colleges, since the population gets renewed every year and there are plenty of opportunities to audit interesting courses.”
Neil Diamant – Professor; Chair in Political Science, Dickinson College
“It’s important to consider family support, job opportunities, and school systems if you still have school age children. Even when you plan ahead the transition from military to civilian life is challenging. You and your spouse should be in agreement when it comes to this decision. Open communication with your family is important. Look at this as an opportunity for another family adventure, but this time you get to choose where Uncle Sam is relocating you one last time.”
Craig Smith – Director of Military and Veteran Enrollment and Outreach, Thomas Edison State University
Should Veterans have to pay taxes on retirement pay?
“Emphatic no, especially for an enlisted service member. One won’t get rich or famous in uniform and the pay isn’t commensurate with civilian peers, that’s understood. We serve for a greater good and put our lives in harm’s way for our country for less money than our classmates or age group makes “back home on the block”. Our civilian counterparts usually make more during that same 20+ years and receive more in retirement. We chose one of the most extremely hazardous career paths and deserve every penny of our pay, especially during retirement. Our retirement pay was earned through pain, blood and sweat and the physical and mental tolls of our strenuous service means some of us can’t go back to the workforce after retirement. Zero taxes on retirement pay is the least our government can do for those who swore our oath, especially for enlisted members, who make less while on duty and in retirement than commissioned officers.”
Barry Horner, MS-IT | 1SG USA, Retired – Director of Veteran and Military Services, Central Community College
“Service members do receive significant income tax breaks while serving on active duty. One example is they do not pay income tax on Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and depending on your rank this can amount to a significant tax break. Once you separate from active duty many things change and the amount of income tax you pay is one of them. Some states do not tax retirement pay and I would encourage transitioning members to research what states provide the best benefits to veterans as they are determining where they want to live after military service. Veterans do pay federal income tax on retirement pay and I think that’s fine and is part of our civic responsibilities.”
Craig Smith – Director of Military and Veteran Enrollment and Outreach, Thomas Edison State University
How can the VA health care system be improved to better serve veterans and their families?
“Consider the Veteran’s spouse when determining who can receive care from the VA. Not every Veteran is retired or rated at 100 percent, but for those who are 50 percent and above and not covered by retiree TriCare for Life, I feel the spouse should be able to receive primary health care from the VA. Much like basic health insurance to cover routine services, the VA could provide health care to spouses with acute issues sick call type illnesses. The VA needs to yield more to the Veteran during the ‘more likely than not’ decision making process. I am in this situation and I’ve worked with many Veterans who have legitimate injuries the VA doesn’t accept as service connected. The VA policy of having a ‘nexus of injury’ while in uniform to be service connected doesn’t mean the injury didn’t happen while on duty, it just means the Veteran didn’t report it – for whatever reason – and if the Veteran and other medical professionals can support the claim, the nexus shouldn’t weigh so heavy in the VA’s decision. That should not be the determining factor of a medical claim for disability rating and the Veteran, with proper documentation, should not have ‘the nexus’ work against him or her.”
Barry Horner, MS-IT | 1SG USA, Retired – Director of Veteran and Military Services, Central Community College
“The VA health care system has been improved in recent years and I believe it’s important for all veterans to understand how to access their health care benefits. I also think it’s difficult for some veterans to effectively navigate the various technological platforms so anything that can be done to assist veterans and their families with these challenges is important.”
Craig Smith – Director of Military and Veteran Enrollment and Outreach, Thomas Edison State University
