MA Ranked Among Best States in U.S. for Military Retirees
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Massachusetts is ranked as the 13th best state in the U.S. for military retirees.
“Retirement is typically viewed as the end of the line — a time for rest, relaxation and the pursuit of interests long ago put on the back burner. But the story is far different for military retirees who must deal with the trials of reassimilation into civilian life. For starters, the average officer is only 45 years old — 42 for nondisability enlisted personnel — upon retirement from service. Many of those who reenter the job market face tough challenges during the transition while others struggle with more difficult problems, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, disability, and homelessness,” said WalletHub.
Massachusetts Rankings:
4th Best - Economic Enviornment
49th Best - Quality of Life
7th Best - Healthcare
The Rankings
Massachusetts is ranked behind Montana and Minnesota, who are ranked 11th and 12th respectively.
Massachusetts is ranked ahead of Kentucky and Oklahoma, who are ranked 14th and 15th respectively.
Florida is ranked as the best state for military retirees, while District of Columbia is ranked as the worst.
See the rankings in the map below
The Method
In order to determine the best and worst states for military retirement, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: 1) Economic Environment, 2) Quality of Life and 3) Healthcare.
They evaluated those dimensions using 27 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for military retirees.
They then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Economic Environment – Total Points: 33.33
- State Tax on Military Pension: Triple Weight (~5.56 Points)
- Tax-Friendliness: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Share of Veteran-Owned Businesses: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Dollars in Defense Department Contracts per Capita: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Job Opportunities for Veterans: Triple Weight (~5.56 Points)
- State Authorization for Veterans’ Preference in Private Hiring: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Veteran Job Fairs per 100,000 Veterans: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Job Growth (2017 vs. 2016): Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Military Bases & Installations per 100,000 Veterans: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Total VA Expenditure per Number of Veterans: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Presence of State Help for Returning Veterans: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Presence of Academic Credit for Military Service: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Housing Affordability: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
- Cost-of-Living Index: Full Weight (~1.85 Points)
Quality of Life – Total Points: 33.33
- Share of Veterans: Full Weight (~3.51 Points)
- Share of Veterans Not Receiving SNAP: Full Weight (~3.51 Points)
- Share of VA Benefits-Administration Facilities per Number of Veterans*: Double Weight (~7.02 Points)
- Quality of University System: Full Weight (~3.51 Points)
- Arts, Leisure & Recreation Establishments per Capita: Half Weight (~1.75 Points)
- Share of Population Aged 40 & Older: Full Weight (~3.51 Points)
- Share of Homeless Veterans: Double Weight (~7.02 Points)
- Idealness of Weather: Full Weight (~3.51 Points)
Health Care – Total Points: 33.33
- Number of VA Health Facilities per Number of Veterans*: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Federal, State, Local & Private Hospitals per Capita: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Physicians per Capita: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Quality of VA Hospitals: Triple Weight (~14.28 Points)
- Presence of Veteran-Treatment Courts: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
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