Best Cities For Veterans: Where Does Chicago Rank?

CHICAGO, IL — As the nation prepares later this week to celebrate Veterans Day for those Americans who served their country, an online credit score and financial advice publication has ranked the best — and worst — cities for vets. Of 100 cities ranked, Chicago came in at No. 69, according to WalletHub.com. It was the only Illinois city to make the list.

The rankings were based four primary factors: Employment opportunities for veterans, the local economy, the quality of life for veterans, and health. In the ranking, WalletHub scored Chicago at No. 43 for quality of life, No. 78 for health, No. 75 for its economy, and No. 53 for jobs.

The Windy City came in smack dab between Buffalo, New York (No. 68) and Milwaukee (No. 7o).

The top five cities for veterans, according to WalletHub, are: Austin, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Plano, Texas. At the bottom of the rankings are: Memphis, Tennessee; Hialeah, Florida; Baltimore, Maryland; Newark, New Jersey; and Detroit, Michigan.

WalletHub noted that unemployment and homelessness have declined overall for veterans across the nation, based on data from the departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs. However, that’s not true for all parts of the nation. In some places, veterans have long wait times for mental health care and lack educational opportunities, the site said.

To score the cities, WalletHub took each of the four factors and examined by various metrics, and then ranked the cities accordingly.

In the employment ranking, the site considered how many veteran-owned businesses, the number of military-skilled jobs and the veteran unemployment rate there are in the metropolitan area. For the health factor, the site considered the availability and quality of nearby Veterans Administration facilities.

In the economy factors, the site considered veterans’ income level, educational opportunties, housing affordability of the region and how many veterans were living below the poverty level. For quality of life, the site took into account how many veterans, family-friendliness and retiree-friendliness.

To see the full ranking, visit WalletHub’s site.

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