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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
After service, the right city means keeping more of what you've earned. We scored 286 cities for veterans: cost, taxes, and healthcare. San Antonio takes #1 for 2026.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San AntonioTX | 93 | $1,361 | Details |
| 2 | IndianapolisIN | 92 | $1,356 | Details |
| 3 | OklahomaOK | 89 | $1,255 | Details |
| 4 | El PasoTX | 94 | $1,441 | Details |
| 5 | DetroitMI | 84 | $1,318 | Details |
| 6 | LouisvilleKY | 94 | $1,352 | Details |
| 7 | MemphisTN | 86 | $1,234 | Details |
| 8 | TulsaOK | 89 | $1,207 | Details |
| 9 | ClevelandOH | 87 | $1,344 | Details |
| 10 | Corpus ChristiTX | 93 | $1,433 | Details |
| 11 | CincinnatiOH | 94 | $1,425 | Details |
| 12 | GreensboroNC | 94 | $1,382 | Details |
| 13 | St LouisMO | 89 | $1,326 | Details |
| 14 | Fort WayneIN | 90 | $1,160 | Details |
| 15 | LubbockTX | 92 | $1,388 | Details |
| 16 | ToledoOH | 83 | $1,060 | Details |
| 17 | LaredoTX | 91 | $1,327 | Details |
| 18 | Baton RougeLA | 91 | $1,312 | Details |
| 19 | FayettevilleNC | 93 | $1,426 | Details |
| 20 | Little RockAR | 89 | $1,171 | Details |
| 21 | AmarilloTX | 89 | $1,245 | Details |
| 22 | ColumbusOH | 94 | $1,415 | Details |
| 23 | AkronOH | 84 | $1,134 | Details |
| 24 | ShreveportLA | 85 | $1,170 | Details |
| 25 | KilleenTX | 90 | $1,280 | Details |
#1 Ranked: San Antonio, TX — cost index 93, rent $1,361/mo, income $62,917
South dominates with 7 of top 10
Veteran scoring: cost index 93, no state income tax, healthcare index 96 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
After service, the right city means keeping more of what you've earned. We scored 286 cities for veterans: cost, taxes, and healthcare. San Antonio takes #1 for 2026.
Here's San Antonio by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 93. Rent: $1,361/month. Income: $62,917/year. Home price: $247,132. Population: 1,495,295. The strongest category is Housing at 83; the most expensive is Healthcare at 96. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,408 per year vs. the national median. That's the sort of advantage that turns renters into homeowners.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
7 of the 10 top-ranked cities are in the South. Low taxes and lower housing costs give Southern cities a structural edge.
Rent ranges from $1,361/mo in San Antonio to $2,509/mo in Jurupa Valley — a monthly difference of $1,148, or $13,776 per year.
1,495,295 residents · Texas
San Antonio earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. That's a reasonable number. The 93 cost index sits 19 points below the national baseline, and the $62,917 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $247,132 — $220,238 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 83, while Healthcare trails at 96.
879,293 residents · Indiana
What does daily life actually cost in Indianapolis? Start with the 26% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. On the category level, Housing (index 80) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 95) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $62,995 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — and homes at $226,528 round out a profile that ranks #2 for clear reasons.
702,767 residents · Oklahoma
A closer look at Oklahoma: the cost index of 89 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — breaks down to a Housing index of 73 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 92 (weakest). Median rent is $1,255/month — 34% below the national median — while household income sits at $66,702, meaning locals spend about 23% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
678,958 residents · Texas
In plain English: the #4 spot goes to El Paso, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,441/month — saving renters $5,448 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 84, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 96. A 29% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
633,218 residents · Michigan
Why Detroit ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. And in most cases, at 84 on the cost index, residents save roughly 28% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,318/month while the median household pulls in $39,575/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 61, though Healthcare (87) lags behind. Home prices average $74,828 — $392,542 below the national median.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to military veterans. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
San Antonio scores highest for military veterans due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,361/mo, and competitive median income of $62,917.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
San Antonio (ranked #1) has a cost index of 93 and rent of $1,361/mo, while Jurupa Valley (ranked #286) has a cost index of 131 and rent of $2,509/mo — a 38-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in San Antonio is $1,361/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $534 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in San Antonio is $247,132, which is 3.9× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.