America’s 15 Best Cities for Veterans and Their Families

GOLETA, California — In honor of Veterans Day, a new survey recognizes the significant change America’s military personnel face when they return to civilian life. This includes challenges like finding a new place to live and work. So where are the best places for veterans and their families to begin the civilian chapter of their lives?

A recent study by CoworkingCafe.com has made this decision a little easier by highlighting the American cities that offer the best conditions for veterans to start these new chapters. Their survey looked at several factors that contribute to a veteran life qualityincluding how many veterans already live in the area, the availability of veteran-owned businesses, and job opportunities. In addition, the researchers examined the availability of health care providers specializing in veteran care, the presence of pediatricians for those with families, environmental quality, and the availability of green space.

The findings proved it virginia is a prominent state, with four cities—Chesapeake, Arlington, Virginia Beach, and Norfolk—dominating the top spots. Not only do these cities offer strong veteran communities and high median incomes for veterans, they also have exceptional employment rates for veterans, with some cities showing a zero percent unemployment rate of this group.

Virginia also offers additional benefits for veterans, including tax exemptions for veterans with disabilities and support with education and job search, which makes it especially attractive.

The survey showed that the East Coast, in general, is home to many of the top cities for veterans. New York has the largest number of veteran-led businesses, while Norfolk has the highest percentage of veterans in its population.

Not only did Arlington, Virginia top the list, but it also offers the highest average income for veterans at more than $117,000 per year. Also, cities like St. Petersburg, Florida, and Chesapeake, Virginia, join Arlington in having virtually no unemployed veterans among their residents.

Let’s take a closer look at each city making CoworkingCafe.com’s list of the best communities for veterans:

1. Chesapeake, Virginia – Total points: 58.9

“With great scores across the board, this representative of Virginia is the ultimate place for veterans to settle after military service,” the researchers write in a media release.

The survey finds that Chesapeake also had one of the highest percentages of veterans in the city’s total population (14.2 percent). It was surpassed only by Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Importantly, Chesapeake shined with a basically non-existent veteran unemployment rate. In terms of salary, the median income for veterans in Chesapeake is over $80,000 per year. It was the second highest in the poll, second only to Arlington.

2. New York, NY – Total Points: 55.3

“More specifically, there are more than 19,000 veteran-owned businesses, which was the highest number among all the cities we looked at,” reports the CoworkingCafe.com team.

New York is also home to the most veteran specialty healthcare providers (three) and the highest number of available coworking spaces (367) for those looking to start a business in a flexible work environment.

3. Arlington, Virginia – Total points: 54.5

Famous for hosting the National Veterans Day Ceremony each year, Arlington has the highest median income for veterans (over $117,000), as well as a zero percent unemployment rate among veterans living in the city.

4. Virginia Beach, Virginia – Total Points: 49.7

“Known as an affordable place to live on the East Coast with low tax rates, beautiful scenery and plenty of family-friendly activities, this waterfront destination is home to the second largest community of veterans among the cities on our list,” they write the investigators. .

Additionally, 14.4 percent of Virginia Beach residents are veterans. The city also recorded the second highest number of hectares of green space available to residents and the better air quality on the list

5. Norfolk, Virginia – Total points: 47.1

Norfolk is home to the largest naval station in the world. Aside from its massive military presence, Norfolk also has a high number of pediatricians available for every 100,000 children in the area: 184, which finished behind only Boston and Washington, DC.

6. Washington, DC – Total points: 44.7

“A good place for families, washington dc it also claims large schools with high rankings, which are in third place in this category”, reveals the survey.

The median annual income of veterans in this city is more than $77,500, the third highest among all cities analyzed.

7. Colorado Springs, Colorado – Total points: 41.7

“The most important factor that could drive veterans to this idyllic location was the large community of veterans residing in the city,” the researchers write.

Specifically, more than 13 percent of Colorado Springs’ total population consists of veterans, making it very attractive to military retirees and their families alike.

8. Petersburg, Fla. – Total points: 41

Warm Florida climate and thriving business scene create great job opportunities for veterans. This includes property tax exemptions, tuition and education assistance and other special benefits for former military personnel. St. Petersburg also reported a zero percent unemployment rate among veterans, as well as the second highest number of skilled health care providers (two).

9. Boston, Mass. – Total points: 40.4

Boston it stands out in health care, with two locations specializing in veterans, and the highest number of pediatricians on the list (386 per 100,000 children). Veterans with families will also be pleased to know that Boston schools ranked highest among all cities analyzed.

10. Chula Vista, California – Total points: 40.4

California it is home to more than 1.8 million veterans, the largest population in the country. In Chula Vista, the median income for veterans is more than $70,000 a year, with an unemployment rate of about 1.4 percent.

Complete the top 15 cities on the CoworkingCafe.com map Tampa, Florida; Seattle, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; i Los Angeles, California.

Survey methodology:

To compile this study, CoworkingCafe.com analyzed and ranked 79 US cities, each with a veteran population of more than 10,000. The researchers only considered cities with a complete data set. Data points were analyzed against extreme values ​​within the dataset, determining the highest and lowest possible scores for each metric.