Top Veteran Employer & Veteran Benefits in All 50 States
List of Top Veteran Benefit and Employer for Every State
Deciding where to live and work after transitioning out of the military can be an overwhelming process especially if you haven’t decided which state to live in. We have put together some factors for you to consider. Setting yourself up to make sure your money goes further and living in a state that has veteran employment programs as well as companies willing to hire veterans will help the transition from military life to civilian life.
Areas to Consider
Cost of Living
Consists of all of your living expenses including groceries, utilities, insurance, and housing. The average cost of living is 100 nationally and can be used as a gage to determine affordability. We have used insure.com‘s cost of living metrics.
Median Income
The middle point of a sample of household incomes, it is a good gage to determine what your income might be in each state starting out. According to census.gov in 2019 Median household income was $68,703.
Top Benefit
Provides insight on how military friendly and a state might be as well as how popular and useful that benefit is to other military members.
Top Veteran Employer
Know who the top veteran employer may give you a leg up in searching for a job after you have left the military. Once companies hire veterans and discover their amazing work ethic they commit to hiring more.
Individual State Benefits
Wherever you are planning to move check out the all 50 states’ veterans benefits offered in each state at CollegeRecon.com. Knowing what is available to you could help determine where you might live or help you get access to benefits in your current state.
RELATED: Find state veterans benefits at CollegeRecon – All 50 states’ Veterans Benefits
State Listing of Top Veteran Benefits and Employers
Alabama
-
- Average Cost of living: 85.76
- Median household income: $48,486
- Top Benefit: State Veterans Homes
- Top Veteran Employer: Navigator Development Group, Inc.
Alaska
-
- Average Cost of living: 122.88
- Median household income: $76,715
- Top Benefit: Alaska Property Tax Exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: The State of Alaska
Arizona
-
- Average Cost of living: 97.66
- Median household income: $56,213
- Top Benefit: Special License Plates
- Top Veteran Employer: List of veteran friendly employers
Arkansas
-
- Average Cost of living: 89.17
- Median household income: $45,726
- Top Benefit: State tax exemption on military retirement pay
- Top Veteran Employer: The State of Arkansas
California
-
- Average Cost of living: 148.53
- Median household income: $71,228
- Top Benefit: Flexible financing for home purchases
- Top Veteran Employer: Employment Development Department (EDD) Workforce Services
Colorado
-
- Average Cost of living: 107.01
- Median household income: $68,811
- Top Benefit: Tax exemption on homes
- Top Veteran Employer: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
Connecticut
-
- Average Cost of living: 121.59
- Median household income: $76,106
- Top Benefit: Veteran designation State Driver’s License and ID Cards
- Top Veteran Employer: Lockheed Martin, United Technologies Corporation, Sikorsky, Electric Boat, Peoples United, Cigna and Aetna. Click here for more information.
Delaware
-
- Average Cost of living: 107.51
- Median household income: $65,627
- Top Benefit: Veterans license plates
- Top Veteran Employer: Dover Air Force Base and the state of Delaware.
Florida
-
- Average Cost of living: 103.45
- Median household income: $53,267
- Top Benefit: Tax exemption benefits on homes
- Top Veteran Employer: CSX and Florida Blue. Click here for more information.
Georgia
-
- Average Cost of living: 90.73
- Median household income: $55,679
- Top Benefit: Free license plates for Veterans
- Top Veteran Employer: The Southern Company.
Hawaii
-
- Average Cost of living: 198.49
- Median household income: $78,084
- Top Benefit: Totally Disabled Veterans Real Property Tax Exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and the U.S. Government
Idaho
-
- Average Cost of living: 95.52
- Median household income: $53,089
- Top Benefit: Reduced hunting & fishing license and tag fees
- Top Veteran Employer: Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
Illinois
-
- Average Cost of living: 97.68
- Median household income: $63,575
- Top Benefit: Veteran designation on driver’s licenses
- Top Veteran Employer: The Illinois State Government.
Indiana
-
- Average Cost of living: 90.19
- Median household income: $54,325
- Top Benefit: Cancellation of tuition and fees for children of disabled Veterans
Iowa
-
- Average Cost of living: 91.12
- Median household income: $58,580
- Top Benefit: Homeownership Assistance Program
- Top Veteran Employer: Home Base Iowa Initiative
Kansas
-
- Average Cost of living: 89.17
- Median household income: $57,422
- Top Benefit: Hunting and fishing fee discount
- Top Veteran Employer: The state of Kansas
Kentucky
-
- Average Cost of living: 92.93
- Median household income: $48,392
- Top Benefit: Tuition waived at all state colleges and universities for dependents of qualifying veterans
- Top Veteran Employer: UPS, Humana, and Toyota. Click here for more information
Louisiana
-
- Average Cost of living: 100.71
- Median household income: $47,942
- Top Benefit: Retired military pay excluded from state income tax
- Top Veteran Employer: website
Maine
-
- Average Cost of living: 114.6
- Median household income: $55,425
- Top Benefit: Maine Resident Lifetime Veteran State Park and Museum Pass
- Top Veteran Employer: Bath Iron Works
Maryland
-
- Average Cost of living: 121.32
- Median household income: $81,868
- Top Benefit: Property tax exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: Department of Defense agencies and private sector defense contractors
Massachusetts
-
- Average Cost of living: 128.44
- Median household income: $77,378
- Top Benefit: Retired military pay income tax benefit
- Top Veteran Employer: For information visit here
Michigan
-
- Average Cost of living: 97.22
- Median household income: $54,938
- Top Benefit: Michigan Veterans Trust Fund (MVTF)
- Top Veteran Employer: DTE and Consumers
Minnesota
-
- Average Cost of living: 103.56
- Median household income: $68,411
- Top Benefit: VA Claims representation or State Soldiers Assistance Program
- Top Veteran Employer: The state of Minnesota, Target, Best Buy, and Cargill. Click here for more information.
Mississippi
-
- Average Cost of living: 85.76
- Median household income: $43,567
- Top Benefit: Homestead exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: Huntington-Ingalls
Missouri
-
- Average Cost of living: 90.78
- Median household income: $53,560
- Top Benefit: State Veterans Services Program
- Top Veteran Employer: Boeing
Montana
-
- Average Cost of living: 106.35
- Median household income: $52,559
- Top Benefit: Veteran Designation on the drivers’ licenses
- Top Veteran Employer: website
Nebraska
-
- Average Cost of living: 91.73
- Median household income: $59,116
- Top Benefit: Nebraska Veterans Registry
- Top Veteran Employer: Werner Enterprises
Nevada
-
- Average Cost of living: 103.49
- Median household income: $57,598
- Top Benefit: Nevada veterans property tax exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: Cosmopolitan
New Hampshire
-
- Average Cost of living: 105.25
- Median household income: $74,057
- Top Benefit: Property tax credits
- Top Veteran Employer: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and BAE Systems
New Jersey
-
- Average Cost of living: 124.28
- Median household income: $79,363
- Top Benefit: $6,000 exemption on income tax return
- Top Veteran Employer: The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
New Mexico
-
- Average Cost of living: 88.41
- Median household income: $48,059
- Top Benefit: Veterans State property tax exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: Veterans Business Development Division
New York
-
- Average Cost of living: 145.04
- Median household income: $65,323
- Top Benefit: Fresh Connect Checks Program
- Top Veteran Employer: New York State Police
North Carolina
-
- Average Cost of living: 93.89
- Median household income: $52,413
- Top Benefit: Veteran license plates and the tax exclusion for 100% disabled
- Top Veteran Employer: Lowe’s and Bank of America
North Dakota
-
- Average Cost of living: 96.97
- Median household income: $63,473
- Top Benefit: Grant program
- Top Veteran Employer: Midwest AgEnergy and Sysco North Dakota
Ohio
-
- Average Cost of living: 91.56
- Median household income: $54,533
- Top Benefit: Veterans Service Commission.
- Top Veteran Employer: The State of Ohio, Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and the Department of Job and Family Services. Click here for more information.
Oklahoma
-
- Average Cost of living: 89.29
- Median household income: $51,424
- Top Benefit: 100% Veteran Disability tax exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: For more information click here
Oregon
-
- Average Cost of living: 134.67
- Median household income: $59,393
- Top Benefit: Veteran recognition license plates
- Top Veteran Employer: Public Employers Grant Preference
Pennsylvania
-
- Average Cost of living: 104.05
- Median household income: $59,445
- Top Benefit: Real Estate Tax Exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: The state of Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
-
- Average Cost of living: 117.86
- Median household income: $63,296
- Top Benefit: Rhode Island National Guard members receive free tuition
- Top Veteran Employer: For more information click here
South Carolina
-
- Average Cost of living: 93.71
- Median household income: $51,015
- Top Benefit: Homestead exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: Boeing
South Dakota
-
- Average Cost of living: 92.84
- Median household income: $56,499
- Top Benefit: bonus program
- Top Veteran Employer: The state of South Dakota
Tennessee
-
- Average Cost of living: 88.3
- Median household income: $50,972
- Top Benefit: the property tax relief for certain 100% disabled Veterans
- Top Veteran Employer: Fedex Express World Hub
Texas
-
- Average Cost of living: 95.02
- Median household income: $59,570
- Top Benefit: Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) Claims Department
- Top Veteran Employer: Click here for more information.
Utah
-
- Average Cost of living: 95.84
- Median household income: $68,374
- Top Benefit: Veterans property tax abatement
- Top Veteran Employer: Zions Bank
Vermont
-
- Average Cost of living: 113.27
- Median household income: $60,076
- Top Benefit: Property tax reduction program
- Top Veteran Employer: The State of Vermont and Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Virginia
-
- Average Cost of living: 109.54
- Median household income: $71,564
- Top Benefit: VA claims assistance program
- Top Veteran Employer: CACI International, Inc.
Washington
-
- Average Cost of living: 122.18
- Median household income: $70,116
- Top Benefit: Free license plates for disabled Veterans
- Top Veteran Employer: Boeing
West Virginia
-
- Average Cost of living: 90.59
- Median household income: $44,921
- Top Benefit: Receive yearly funds to pay for education and training opportunities
- Top Veteran Employer: Agencies of the state government
Wisconsin
-
- Average Cost of living: 97.09
- Median household income: $59,209
- Top Benefit: WDVA’s online
- Top Veteran Employer: Click here for more information
Wyoming
-
- Average Cost of living: 101.23
- Median household income: $62,268
- Top Benefit: Property tax exemption
- Top Veteran Employer: Walmart
RELATED:
