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For the Best For Vets: Places to Live 2019 rankings, we evaluated 599 places, as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau, dividing them into 282 small cities with populations of fewer than 100,000; 234 medium-sized cities with populations of at least 100,000 but fewer than 250,000; and 83 large cities with populations of 250,000 or more.

We compared locations across three broad categories: veteran and military culture and services, economic indicators — some veteran-specific and some not — and livability factors such as crime, health, school quality and traffic. Each of the three categories were of comparable value in the evaluation, but economic indicators and veteran and military culture and services were weighed more heavily than livability factors. Including all data points measured, slightly more than half of the evaluation was based on metrics specific to veterans or the military, while the rest was based on metrics applicable to the population as a whole.

Population, home price, rent, income, unemployment and commute time data came from 2016 Census surveys, the most recent available information. Population growth data came from comparing the adult population recorded in the 2015 and 2016 Census surveys.

Military installation information came from the Defense Department’s 2016 Demographics Profile of the Military Community, the most recent such report available. In the case of joint bases, individual components may be reflected.

VA health, benefits and cemetery facilities information came from the Department of Veterans Affairs website.

Crime report data came from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting data for 2016, also the most recent available information. We combined property and violent crime in the chart.

GreatSchools rating data come from the national nonprofit GreatSchools, which uses a 1-10 scale to rate schools, with 10 being the best. We used GreatSchools ratings to calculate an average rating at the county level.

Area health data, where 4 stars represents the best, came from an equal average of two data sources. One is the United Health Foundation's 2017 America's Health Rankings Annual Report, which provided state-by-state data. The other is the 2018 County Health Rankings from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, which provided county-by-county data. In addition, we took into consideration a substantial amount of data not listed on the chart, coming from a variety of sources, including:

  • Costs of institutional child care as measured by Child Care Aware of America’s Parents and the High Cost of Child Care 2017 Report.
  • The Cost of Living Index 2017 Annual Average Data by the Council for Community and Economic Research.
  • The number of nearby colleges and universities, as well as the relative number of students at those institutions using military tuition assistance or the Post-9/11 GI Bill in the 2015-16 fiscal year, as reported by the Education Department.
  • Veteran-specific taxation, hiring and treatment policies by state, as reported by the Military Officers Association of America’s 2018 State Report Card.
  • Overall state and local taxation by state, as reported by the Tax Foundation’s 2018 Facts & Figures report.

We also relied on information from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan, as well as the Missouri Census Data Center, to link data representing different types of geographic areas.

Finally, the number of nearby organizations listed in the most recent of each of our four other Best for Vets rankings was considered when evaluating locations. The associated column shows letters to represent corresponding rankings if at least one such organization was listed in those rankings and was located within 25 miles of the city. In the case of Best for Vets: Franchises, the designation was made if at least one listed company offered franchising opportunities in the state. The coins represent the following rankings:

C

Best for Vets: Colleges 2018

T

Best for Vets: Career & Technical Colleges 2018

E

Best for Vets: Employers 2018

F

Best for Vets: Franchises 2018

Military Times contributor and former reporter Natalie Gross hosts the Spouse Angle podcast. She grew up in a military family and has a master's degree in journalism from Georgetown University.

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