Austin, Texas, is the best city for veterans to live in the United States.
That’s according 2025’s Best & Worst Places for Veterans to Live, released by personal-finance company WalletHub on Monday.
“Austin, Texas, is the best city for veterans, in large part because it has the best colleges for veterans in the country, along with the 10th-highest median annual income for veterans, at around $62,000,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo. “It’s also good for veterans to live in a place where they can form a community of support, and Austin has the third-smallest projected decrease in veterans between 2024 and 2053. Finally, Austin has the 12th-highest number of restaurants and the 10th-most arts/entertainment establishments per capita that offer military discounts.”
The report compared the 100 largest U.S. cities across 19 key metrics, ranging from the share of military skill-related jobs to housing affordability and the availability of VA health facilities.
Tampa, Florida; Madison, Wisconsin; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Colorado Springs, Colorado rounded out the top five best cities in the report.
“When veterans return home from serving our nation, it’s important for them to live in a place that provides good education and employment opportunities, along with access to quality care for their physical and mental health,” added Lupo. “The best cities for veterans have all these characteristics, plus added bonuses like large veteran populations for community support, plus many restaurants and entertainment venues that offer veteran discounts.”
Coming in at the bottom of the report as the worst cities for veterans to live are Toledo, Ohio; Memphis, Tennessee; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan; and Newark, New Jersey.
The VA could reform its health care system to better serve the needs of veterans by hiring people who want to help veterans, said Student Life Manager, Veteran Services, LaGuardia Community College/CUNY Daryl Griffin.
“In my experience with the VA, too often I have felt like my doctor dismissed what I was saying just to get me in and out of his office as quickly as possible. Veterans can look at reviews on Google, but the best way to evaluate your local VA is to go in and get treatment,” he said. “Once you are in the system, ask yourself, how hard is it to schedule an appointment? How long do I have to wait for an appointment? Are all your health issues being heard and given the proper treatment?”
WalletHub also released the results of its 2025 Military Money Survey, which revealed that 39 percent of Americans think inflation and tariffs are hitting military families harder than civilians and 47 percent think the nation doesn’t take care of its veterans financially.
The survey also found that more than 2 in 3 Americans think military contractors are taking advantage of U.S. taxpayers, while 56 percent of Americans think the military doesn’t do enough to teach financial literacy. In addition, 81 percent think that protecting members of the military from identity theft is a matter of national security.
To help with that, WalletHub’s editors also selected 2025’s Best Military Credit Cards, which provide hundreds of dollars in annual savings potential.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.