OC Community Named Nation's Best City for Veterans

As Veterans Day dawns Wednesday, there are about 422,000 veterans struggling to find work in the U.S.

For many, the struggle stems from disabilities caused by active duty service. But California, truly is the Golden State for veterans, according to a WalletHub report looking at the 100 best and worst large cities for military families.

According to WalletHub, Orange County’s Irvine is the best large city for service men and women with low poverty rates and high income growth for veterans. WalletHub looked at military skill-related jobs, veterans benefits and healthcare availability, housing affordability and rates of unemployment and income growth for service members.

Other promising cities for vets include San Diego, which came in at sixth in the nation and Sacramento at eighth nationwide. No California cities ranked in the bottom 10 cities for vets.

However, the picture isn’t all rosy for California veterans. San Bernardino came in at 90th with high levels of poverty, and Long Beach logged in at 78th despite its regional veteran’s hospital. Los Angeles was 64th behind Oakland at 63. In the Bay Area, San Francisco was 53rd and San Jose was ranked 54th nationwide.

Best Cities for Veterans

1. Irvine, CA

2. Scottsdale, AZ

3. Raleigh, NC

4. Orlando, FL

5. Gilbert, AZ

6. San Diego, CA

7. El Paso, TX

8. Sacramento, CA

9. Austin, TX

10. Lubbock, TX

Worst Cities for Veterans

91. Lexington, KY

92. Indianapolis, IN

93. Memphis, TN

94. North Las Vegas, NV

95. Fort Wayne, IN

96. Miami, FL

97. Boston, MA

98. Hialeah, FL

99. Newark, NJ

100. Detroit, MI

For the full report and to see where your city ranks: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-cities-for-veterans/8156/

Photo: Shutterstock