Methodology · Explain the score
How the Vet Score works.
Every city gets a 0–10 Vet Score built from eight 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.
Worked example
Houston, TXHouston, TX …
7.6/ 10
GOODRanked #41 of all metros scored
The composite: a weighted sum
The Vet Score isn't a vibe — it's a weighted average of the eight dimension scores below. Each dimension is scored 0–10, multiplied by its weight, and the pieces are added up. Here's that math for Houston:
DimensionScoreWeightPoints
State Tax on Mil Retirement10.020%2.00
VA Health Access5.018%0.90
Disabled Vet Property Exemption10.015%1.50
VA Loan Affordability8.015%1.20
Job Market for Vets6.012%0.72
Veteran Community Density5.010%0.50
Cost of Living6.55%0.33
2A / CCW Reciprocity9.55%0.48
Composite Vet Score7.6 / 10
National rank is simply every metro sorted by this composite. Tiers: 8.5+ Excellent · 6.5–8.4 Good · 4.5–6.4 Fair · below 4.5 Poor.
What each dimension means
State Tax on Mil Retirement
20% of the composite · Source: State tax codes / Departments of Revenue
10.0 /10
How your state taxes military retirement pay — the single biggest financial lever for a 20-year retiree.
Retirement pay fully exempt10
Partial exemption8 − (top income-tax rate × 30), floor 5
No exemption, top rate ≥ 10%3
No exemption, top rate ≥ 6%4.5
No exemption, lower rate5.5
→ This state: retirement pay is exempt.
VA Health Access
18% of the composite · Source: VA facility directory
5.0 /10
Distance to the nearest VA hospital and how many community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) sit within 50 miles.
≤ 10 mi and ≥ 5 CBOCs10
≤ 10 mi9
≤ 30 mi and ≥ 3 CBOCs8
≤ 30 mi7
≤ 60 mi5.5
Farther / unknown3.5 – 5
Disabled Vet Property Exemption
15% of the composite · Source: State statutes
10.0 /10
Dollar value of the state property-tax exemption for disabled veterans.
≥ $100K value or 100%10
≥ $50K8.5
≥ $5K7
≥ $1.5K5.5
Minimal / none3
→ This state: 100% exemption.
VA Loan Affordability
15% of the composite · Source: Median home-price data
8.0 /10
Median home price against a $340K national benchmark — roughly what a typical VA-loan budget reaches with no down payment.
≤ $238K (≤ 70% of benchmark)9.5
≤ $340K8
≤ $442K (≤ 130%)6.5
≤ $578K (≤ 170%)5
≤ $748K (≤ 220%)3.5
Higher2
→ This metro: median home price $304,621.
Job Market for Vets
12% of the composite · Source: BLS wage data + employer records
6.0 /10
Local wage levels (BLS), Fortune-500 headquarters presence, and defense-contractor density.
Strong wages + major employers8 – 10
Average metro~6 (default)
Thin market3 – 5
Veteran Community Density
10% of the composite · Source: Census / VA population estimates
5.0 /10
Veterans as a share of the adult population — a proxy for VSO chapters, camaraderie, and vet-owned business density.
Score = veteran share of adults (%), capped at 10
Cost of Living
5% of the composite · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities
6.5 /10
BEA Regional Price Parity — how far a dollar goes locally, where 100 = the national average.
Index ≤ 90 (cheaper than average)~10
Index ≈ 100 (national average)~7
Index ≥ 120 (expensive)≤ 4
→ This metro: price index 96 (100 = national avg).
2A / CCW Reciprocity
5% of the composite · Source: State CCW reciprocity maps
9.5 /10
How broadly the state recognizes concealed-carry permits — constitutional-carry states score highest.
Constitutional / broad reciprocity9 – 10
Moderate reciprocity5 – 7
Restrictive2 – 4
→ This state: high reciprocity.
The weights aren't one-size-fits-all
The default weights above are a balanced starting point. On the rankings you can re-weight the model to match your situation — the composite recalculates instantly. A few built-in profiles:
Balanced
Leans hardest on: State Tax on Mil Retirement, VA Health Access, Disabled Vet Property Exemption
20-Year Retiree
Leans hardest on: State Tax on Mil Retirement, VA Loan Affordability, VA Health Access
Disabled Vet Priority
Leans hardest on: VA Health Access, Disabled Vet Property Exemption, VA Loan Affordability
Career-Focused
Leans hardest on: Job Market for Vets, VA Loan Affordability, State Tax on Mil Retirement
Budget-First
Leans hardest on: VA Loan Affordability, Cost of Living, State Tax on Mil Retirement
A note on the affordability math
Affordability is scored from median home price, but each city page also runs a live budget model. It compares the local median against what you could actually finance — BAH-based while you're active duty, or civilian salary plus VA disability compensation once you separate — using a conservative 28%-of-income payment and a lender-max 41% for reference. No down payment is assumed, the way a VA loan works.
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 falls back to a neutral 5.0 rather than guessing — so a mid-range score can sometimes mean "we don't have that data yet."