Prairie State Wire

Illinois ranked 41st among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in a new WalletHub study that examines the states with the best conditions for military retirees, based on criteria such as veterans per capita and access to Veterans Administration health facilities.   

The Prairie State scored 47.64 out of 100 in the ranking. In comparison, No. 1 Virginia scored 60.7 in the analysis that compared states over three dimensions: The economic climate, quality of life and health care resources.

Illinois ranked 37th in the economic environment category, 43rd in quality of life and 23rd for health care. The state ranked third worst in the metric measuring the share of veteran-owned companies with paid employees.

According to the study’s author, veterans returning to civilian life face difficulties such as post-traumatic stress disorder, overcoming disabilities and bouts of homelessness. In choosing a state to settle down in, they may consider issues such as state tax policies on military benefits and diversity in the job market.

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Which States Are the Most Friendly to Military Retirees?

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Economic Environment	Quality of Life	Health Care
1	Virginia	60.7	7	5	12
2	Florida	59.32	10	4	24
3	Minnesota	59.14	17	37	2
4	Maryland	59.04	19	1	19
5	New Hampshire	58.9	8	8	10
6	Alaska	57.83	5	6	29
7	South Carolina	57.45	26	3	22
8	Maine	56.75	14	21	6
9	South Dakota	56.65	9	24	7
10	Connecticut	56.02	42	27	1
11	North Carolina	55.31	4	14	30
12	Alabama	54.06	2	16	44
13	Hawaii	53.97	23	22	8
14	Massachusetts	53.41	18	50	4
15	Utah	53.18	1	31	42
16	Arizona	52.98	13	9	43
17	Kansas	52.4	35	17	15
18	Wisconsin	52.21	32	28	9
19	North Dakota	52.08	12	30	32
20	West Virginia	51.1	6	39	36
21	Montana	50.77	24	12	34
22	Nebraska	50.76	39	19	13
23	Kentucky	50.65	16	38	27
24	Idaho	50.41	34	18	28
25	Pennsylvania	50.31	44	40	5
26	Delaware	50.23	47	11	14
27	Louisiana	50.06	21	25	37
28	Missouri	49.9	31	13	35
29	Oklahoma	49.8	30	7	47
30	Michigan	49.79	28	44	16
31	Texas	49.54	20	36	31
32	Arkansas	49.19	29	29	33
33	Wyoming	49.16	25	2	51
34	Indiana	49.1	11	41	39
35	New Jersey	48.74	46	15	21
36	Tennessee	48.12	3	47	45
37	Colorado	48.09	45	20	25
38	Georgia	48.04	15	23	48
39	New York	47.76	49	48	3
40	Ohio	47.69	41	42	11
41	Illinois	47.64	37	43	23
42	Iowa	47.06	36	34	38
43	Rhode Island	46.39	40	45	20
44	California	46.37	50	10	17
45	Mississippi	44.59	22	32	50
46	New Mexico	43.89	48	26	40
47	Washington	43.45	43	35	46
48	Oregon	41.87	27	51	26
49	District of Columbia	41.26	38	49	41
50	Nevada	41.21	33	46	49
51	Vermont	40.49	51	33	18

Source: WalletHub.com