Austin among best cities for veterans
Based on health care availability, housing affordability, employment opportunities and other factors, Austin is the best among the 100 largest U.S. cities for veterans, according to personal finance website WalletHub.
Austin topped the list, but other Texas cities also ranked in the top third: Plano ranked sixth, Fort Worth was 12th, San Antonio — known as “Military City USA” — ranked 28th, and Arlington ranked 31st. Plano also boasted the lowest veteran unemployment rate.
To rank the cities, WalletHub used 18 different metrics, including share of military skill-related jobs, veteran unemployment rate, job growth, housing affordability, veteran income growth, share of veterans living below the poverty level, number of homeless veterans per 1,000 veterans, veteran population, family-friendliness, retiree-friendliness, the availability of Veterans Administration benefits facilities and health facilities, and educational opportunities.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Texas ranks No. 2 in total veteran population, with more than 1.5 million veterans in the state. Overall, veterans make up 7.94 percent of the Texas population and 6.6 percent of the national population (as of 2017). Although Travis County is shown as having a veteran population of less than 4 percent, according to Veterans Affairs, its surrounding counties have veteran populations of between 5.8 and 18 percent. Between 5.8 and 6.8 percent of Hays County residents are veterans, according to Veterans Affairs.
The Texas Bar, using the VA’s Veteran Population Projection Model, estimates that Hays County’s veteran population will be 15,291 by 2020 and Travis County’s will be just under 50,000.
Data used in WalletHub’s ranking came from the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Council for Community and Economic Research, U.S. News and World Report and RecruitMilitary.
WalletHub had ranked Austin as the No. 1 place to live for veterans in 2017 as well.
