Michigan City Among the Worst Places in America to Be a Veteran
A new study says one Michigan city in particular is among the nation's worst for veterans.
The personal finance website WalletHub recently revealed its "Best & Worst Places for Veterans to Live" in 2024. Austin, Texas, came out on top as the best city for veterans to call home, while the worst was Newark, New Jersey.
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But right on Newark's heels at the bottom of the list was Detroit.
Why Is Detroit a Bad Place for Veterans to Live?
The WalletHub study looked a variety of metrics in the nation's 100 biggest cities, considering everything from their local economies to quality of life, health, and employment rates.
Detroit scored in the bottom 20 in every category, but performed particularly poorly in the areas of employment and quality of life.
The study paints a bleak picture for veterans living in Detroit, pointing out that no other city has a higher percentage of veterans living in poverty, and that there are more unemployed veterans in Detroit than in any other major American city.
Nationally speaking, the percentage of America's veterans struggling with unemployment is around 2.8%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Military OneSource pegs the unemployment rate among veterans in Detroit at around 22.7%.
Naturally, the employment situation in Detroit dovetails directly into lower quality of life rankings for veterans living in the city as well. Veteran advocates cite a lack of job programs targeting veterans, access to affordable housing, and not enough mental health providers as contributing factors to Detroit's continuing struggles.
You can check out the full study here.
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