Salute to service members
Texas earns middling rank in new list of best states for military retirees
Retired veterans in Texas only have it OK.
Texans might claim their state is the best for retired veterans, but a new WalletHub report places the Lone Star State at No. 28 in the U.S. when it comes to the "Best & Worst States for Military Retirees" in 2024.
The annual report examines all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on each state's capability of providing a comfortable lifestyle for our nation's military retirees.
Texas' middling rank earned it a score of 51.22 out of 100 total possible points, only 12.6 points off from South Carolina, which was named 2024's best state for military retirees.
The Lone Star State ranked No. 34 out of all 50 states in both the Quality of Life and Healthcare categories, and ranked No. 13 overall in the Economic Environment category.
More specifically, Texas has the fifth highest number of VA health facilities per number of veterans. But the quality of those health facilities only warranted a mediocre No. 30 rank out of all 50 states, illustrating that Texas has some work to do to improve its veteran healthcare. Separately, Texas scored No. 13 in the ranking for the highest number of Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA) facilities per number of veterans.
Here's the breakdown of Texas' other military retirement rankings:
- No. 20 – Percentage of veteran-owned businesses
- No. 22 – Housing affordability
- No. 28 – Percentage of homeless veterans
- No. 35 – Veteran job opportunities
- No. 43 – Veterans per captia
Retired veterans in Texas looking for a better retirement quality of life would be better off in No. 1-ranking South Carolina, which doesn't enact a tax on military pensions (like Texas), but has many policies and programs in place to aid veterans in their retirement.
"Transitioning from military to civilian life isn’t easy, but the best states for military retirees make that adjustment as smooth as possible," said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. "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."
On the opposite end of the spectrum, retiring veterans should steer clear from Oregon (No. 51), New Mexico (No. 50), Vermont (No. 49), the District of Columbia (No. 48), and Nevada (No. 47), which were all ranked the worst states for military retirees in 2024.
The top 10 best states for military retirees are:
- No. 1 – South Carolina
- No. 2 – Florida
- No. 3 – Virginia
- No. 4 – Maryland
- No. 5 – North Dakota
- No. 6 – Minnesota
- No. 7 – Alaska
- No. 8 – Connecticut
- No. 9 – New Hampshire
- No. 10 – South Dakota
WalletHub determined its rankings by analyzing all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 metrics in three key dimensions: Economic Environment, Quality of Life, and Healthcare. Factors that helped determine each state's score include the state tax on military pensions (if applicable), the share of veterans not receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the quality of VA hospitals, and more.
The full report can be found on wallethub.com.
