Best Cities After Service 2024

Navy Federal worked with Sperling's BestPlaces to evaluate and rank more than 400 US cities and towns across the country based on a variety of quality-of-life metrics (Veteran community, cost of living, etc.). Using these findings, Navy Federal and Sperling's BestPlaces determined which cities best meet the needs of Veterans overall, and then specific to those looking to start a small business, retire from the workforce, buy a home and prefer living in small towns.

After evaluating and ranking 400 US cities, Navy Federal and Sperling’s BestPlaces© Footnote1 curated the Best Cities After Service report to help servicemembers and Veterans smoothly transition to civilian life. We considered many factors, such as Veterans’ average income, proximity to VA hospitals and military bases, and arts and recreation. Then, we coupled this with a suite of quality-of-life measures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.