Report ranks US states that 'care' the most about veterans
With about 18 million veterans living in the U.S. in 2024, SmileHub has released a new report ranking the states that "care most about veterans" in 2024.
To highlight this, the non-profit organization compared each of the 50 states across three key dimensions: veteran community support, veteran health and wellness, and veteran employment and finances.
SmileHub evaluated the dimensions using 21 metrics including the share of veteran-owned businesses to total VA spending per veteran to the share of homeless veterans.
The organization found that the state of Virginia cared most about veterans in 2024 with a score of 67.42. The state ranked highest in the categories of community support and employment and finances.
FILE - Soldiers from Ft. Lee, Virginia help mark Veterans Day ceremonies at the World War II Memorial Nov.11, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Getty Images) (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Florida took the runner-up spot with a score of 63.08. The state ranked second in the health & wellness category, right behind California.
According to the results, Texas came in third, South Carolina in fourth and Pennsylvania in fifth.
Most veteran friendly states
- Virginia
- Florida
- Texas
- South Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Illinois
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Arkansas
- Hawaii
- California
- Kansas
- New Hampshire
See the full list here.
States with the most veterans
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the three most populated states in the nation – California, Texas and Florida, have the highest populations of veterans. The least populous states in America – Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota and Alaska, rank near the bottom for the number of veterans living there.
RELATED: These states have the most veterans
Veterans account for over 6% of the population, but there are at least four states – Alaska, Montana, Virginia and Wyoming – with a veteran population above 10%, according to Census data compiled by 24/7 Wall Street. All of those states except Montana house the largest military bases in the U.S.