With May being Military Appreciation Month and significant military pension changes taking effect this year, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on 2018’s Best and Worst States for Military Retirees.

WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 27 key indicators of retirement-friendliness toward veterans. The data set ranges from job opportunities for veterans to housing affordability to quality of VA hospitals.

And once everything was said-and-done, South Dakota finished in the top-10 - seventh to be exact. Florida came in first, followed by Virginia, New Hampshire, Alabama, South Carolina, Maine and then South Dakota.

As for the surrounding states: Montana came in at #11, Minnesota #12, Wyoming #17, North Dakota #18, Nebraska #32 and Iowa #40. The District of Columbia finished dead-last at #51 right behind Oregon.

Following are some of the reasons South Dakota finished so high on the list:

Military Retirement in South Dakota (1=Best; 25=Avg.)

  • 11th – Veterans per Capita
  • 12th – Number of VA Health Facilities per Number of Veterans
  • 10th  Veteran Job Opportunities
  • 5th – Housing Affordability
  • 1st – Arts, Leisure  & Recreation Establishments per Capita

When it came to affordable housing, it was practically a sweep for the Midwestern states with Iowa finishing #1, Nebraska #2, Kansas #3, North Dakota #4 and South Dakota #5.

To see the full report, visit the WalletHub website.

Source: WalletHub


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