How the Vet Score works.
Each city with enough data gets a 0–10 Vet Score built from weighted dimensions. Here's exactly what each one measures, where the data comes from, and how the math adds up — walked through with a real city.
The weights aren't one-size-fits-all
The default weights above are built for enlisted members getting out. On the rankings you can re-weight the model to match your situation — the composite recalculates instantly. A few built-in profiles:
A note on the affordability math
Affordability is scored from median home price, but each city page also runs a budget model with your own numbers. It compares the local median against what you could finance — your BAH for that area while you're serving, or your civilian income plus VA disability compensation once you separate — on the full payment (principal, interest, property tax and insurance), after your existing debts. The conservative figure uses 28% front-end and 36% back-end debt-to-income; the lender figure uses VA's 41% back-end ratio. No down payment is assumed, the way a VA loan works. We don't fill in a BAH, salary, tax bill or rate for you: when one isn't on file, the page asks.
Caveats: scores are estimates from public data and refresh as sources update. When a source is missing for a metro (for example, an unmapped VA distance), that dimension is left out and the other weights scale up, rather than guessing. The city page marks which dimensions have no data.