South Carolina Ranked #1 in America for Military Retirees

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Charlotte Stories
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Free Meals And Services in Charlotte on Veterans DayWith May being Military Appreciation Month and Memorial Day approaching, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees, along with its Memorial Day Facts infographic and expert commentary.

To help our troops plan their years after service, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of retirement-friendliness toward veterans. The data set ranges from job opportunities for veterans to housing affordability to the quality of VA hospitals.

South Carolina ranked #1 in the nation and North Carolina came in at #13.

Best States for Military Retirees

Overall Rank  State Total Score  Economic Environment Rank  Quality of Life Rank  Health Care Rank 
1 South Carolina 64.01 2 3 12
2 Maryland 61.90 24 1 9
3 New Hampshire 59.09 5 11 15
4 North Dakota 58.99 3 29 8
5 Virginia 58.86 13 5 22
6 Alaska 58.58 7 6 28
7 Florida 58.36 21 4 21
8 Massachusetts 58.18 9 50 1
9 Wyoming 58.14 14 2 30
10 South Dakota 58.11 12 23 7
11 Minnesota 56.98 27 37 2
12 Alabama 55.95 1 13 38
13 North Carolina 54.37 15 14 25
14 Maine 53.53 11 24 27
15 Arkansas 53.14 20 30 16
16 Ohio 52.88 31 40 5
17 West Virginia 52.69 22 42 10
18 Pennsylvania 52.46 44 35 4
19 Arizona 52.27 10 10 44
20 Oklahoma 52.16 16 8 45
21 Texas 52.08 6 32 36
22 Wisconsin 51.71 32 33 13
23 Missouri 51.69 29 22 24
24 Kentucky 51.20 28 38 14
25 Connecticut 51.14 46 27 6
26 Louisiana 50.52 30 15 33
27 Hawaii 50.19 42 9 29
28 Idaho 50.17 33 16 32
29 Utah 49.86 4 31 47
30 Michigan 49.82 37 44 11
31 Iowa 49.70 26 34 26
32 Delaware 49.26 47 12 20
33 Illinois 48.93 36 36 17
34 Nebraska 48.69 43 20 23
35 Colorado 48.63 38 21 31
36 Georgia 48.56 25 18 41
37 Indiana 48.53 19 41 34
38 Tennessee 48.02 8 45 40
39 Kansas 48.02 45 28 18
40 California 47.54 51 7 19
41 Montana 47.23 35 19 42
42 New York 46.84 50 46 3
43 New Mexico 46.69 40 26 37
44 Nevada 45.45 17 39 49
45 Rhode Island 45.41 23 47 39
46 Mississippi 43.52 18 25 51
47 District of Columbia 41.41 34 49 46
48 New Jersey 40.64 49 17 48
49 Vermont 39.65 48 43 43
50 Washington 37.79 39 48 50
51 Oregon 37.76 41 51 35

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

 

Memorial Day Facts

  • 100 – Members of the 119th Congress have served in the U.S. military, only the 5th time in the last 50 years with an increase at all in the total veterans elected.
  • 100M+ – Households worldwide will watch the National Memorial Day parade broadcast on TV.
  • 3.6M – People are expected to travel by plane over Memorial Day weekend (up 2% over 2024).
  • 818 – Number of hot dogs consumed every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day (seven billion total).
  • 20 to 85 Percent Off – Discount shoppers can expect during Memorial Day weekend sales.

To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, you can visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-military-retirees/3915