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The State Military-Friendliness Index: How We Score It

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Every state treats a disabled veteran a little differently, and most "best state" lists you've seen online just eyeball it. We built something more accountable: a scorecard where every tier traces back to a written rule and an official source, so you (or anyone else) can check our work.

The six categories

We score each state on six things that actually move a disabled veteran's money and quality of life:

Each category is scored on the same 0-4 scale: 0 means we found nothing, 4 means the benefit is broad, accessible, and reaches you well below a 100% rating. The full rubric for every level, category by category, is public on the State Index page itself, next to each state's score.

Why these weights

Property tax relief (25%) and state income tax treatment (20%) carry the most weight because they're the two big-dollar, near-universal levers, the same two we point you to first in our best-states framework. Education (15%) and employment preference (15%) matter a lot, but only to some of us (dependents, working-age vets). Vehicle and recreation (10%) is real money but smaller dollars. Veterans' homes and health access (15%) matters most if you'll ever need long-term care in-state.

Where the numbers come from

Four of the six categories (property tax, income tax, education, vehicle/recreation) are computed automatically from our sourced benefits data, the same data behind our property-tax calculator and our state-by-state comparison. Nobody hand-types those scores; they're a fixed function of the underlying facts, so if a state changes its law, the score updates the next time we refresh the data, automatically.

The other two (employment preference, veterans' homes/health access) are read directly from our state research files and scored against the same public rubric, then independently double-checked against the original source before publishing.

A state only gets a real score once all six categories are verified. Until then, its page shows "Index pending," not a guess.

Why there's no ranked list

You've probably seen the viral "top 10 states for disabled veterans" videos. We're not doing that, on purpose. A state's tier tells you how its benefits are structured, not whether you should live there. A huge property-tax break means nothing if you rent, and a benefit you don't qualify for at your rating is worth zero. Our own best-states-for-vets guide makes the case that the highest-value move for most veterans isn't relocating, it's claiming what you already qualify for where you live right now.

That's why the State Index is alphabetical, not ranked, and why we don't publish a sortable leaderboard. Use it to understand your own state, or to compare a couple of specific states if you're already planning a move for other reasons, not to chase a score.

Do this today

Look up your own state on the State Index, open its full category breakdown, and check the "why" behind each score against the source link. If something looks off, or your state's specific benefit isn't reflected, hit reply on any of our emails and tell us. We check this against primary state sources and keep it current.

Education, not advice. Not affiliated with the VA or any government agency.

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This is general education, not advice. Nothing here is individualized legal, tax, financial, or investment advice, and nothing here is VA claims assistance or representation. We do not prepare, present, or charge for VA benefit claims. Rules, rates, forms, and deadlines change, always verify at the official source linked before you rely on it. For claims help, use a free VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization (DAV, VFW, American Legion, or your county Veterans Service Officer). For individualized money decisions, consult a fee-only fiduciary professional.

Applying for benefits is free and self-service: enrolling in VA health care, CHAMPVA, Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA), a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) student-loan discharge, the VA home-loan funding-fee waiver, and Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) or Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) never require paying anyone a fee. Be alert to “pension poaching”: people or companies that charge fees, push you to move money into trusts or annuities, or offer a lump-sum “buyout” of your future VA payments to “qualify” you for a benefit or “help” with paperwork. Report suspected fraud to the VA Office of Inspector General at va.gov/oig/hotline or 1-800-827-1000.

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