Texas is a Top Ten State for Military Members to Retire
These retirees are young. The average age of someone who retires from the military is 45, and it turns out Texas is one of the best places in America to plant new roots. If you see military retirees at Memorial Day events this weekend, think they'll agree that they're in a good place?
Wallethub looked at things like veterans per capita, the number of VA health facilities, and job opportunities for veterans, and discovered that Texas takes care of its veterans better than most states.
We rank 7th for the economy and 8th for healthcare, and 8th overall among the Best and Worst States for Military Retirees. And here's how some of the rest breaks down.
Military Retirement in Texas (1=Best; 25=Average.)
4th – Number of VA Health Facilities per Number of Veterans
11th – % of Homeless Veterans
14th – Veteran Job Opportunities
17th – Housing Affordability
27th – % of Veteran-Owned Businesses
12th – Number of VA Benefits-Administration Facilities per Number of Veterans
9th – Cost-of-Living Index
There are plenty of places for military retirees to plug in around Tyler, including the UT-Tyler Veterans Resource Center. UT-Tyler says it's committed to being one of the most veteran and military friendly campuses in the UT System and in the State of Texas.
After all that these folks have done for us during their military careers, it's nice to see Texas does a pretty good job of taking care of them after their service. Could Texas do better? Yes. But since we're not directly in charge of creating veteran housing and hospitals, the least we can do is have some veterans over for a Memorial Day weekend barbecue, and remember that the true meaning of the holiday is more than burgers, beer, chips, and guacamole.