Ranking the Best States for Retired Veterans

May is Military Appreciation Month and Memorial Day is less than a week away. With the average military retirement age being 44 years old, the personal finance social network WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2015’s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees.

The WalletHub report analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key metrics — ranging from job opportunities for veterans to the number of VA health facilities — that speak collectively to the economic environment, health care services and overall quality of life in each area.

Here are the top, and bottom, states:

Best States for Military Retirees		Worst States for Military Retirees
1	Wyoming	42	Oregon
2	Montana	43	Illinois
3	South Dakota	44	Connecticut
4	Maine	45	Nevada
5	Florida	46	New Jersey
6	Alaska	47	New York
7	New Hampshire	48	Utah
8	North Dakota	49	District of Columbia
9	Oklahoma	50	Rhode Island
10	South Carolina	51	Indiana

Key Stats

The number of veterans per 100 inhabitants is two times higher in Alaska than in New York.
The number of homeless veterans per 10,000 veterans is 17 times higher in the District of Columbia than in Virginia.
The number of VA health facilities per number of veterans is eight times higher in New York than in Rhode Island.
The number of VA benefits administration facilities per number of veterans is 24 times higher in Alaska than in Michigan.
The percentage of the population aged 40 and older is two times higher in Maine than in Utah.
The number of veteran-owned businesses per 1,000 inhabitants is two times higher in Montana than in Utah.

The full report and all ratings is at http://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-military-retirees/3915.