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Mortgages Reports

The Most Affordable Cities For Veteran Homebuyers

Updated Apr 05, 2023   |   7-min read

The United States is forever indebted to our veterans and active military members, and when their service to our country is over, the least we can do is provide a great city for them to call home.

The first part of that includes finding a town or city that has a high percentage of veterans and active military members in its population because those places are making veterans happy, while also providing plenty of opportunities for fellow servicemen and women to meet and relate to one another.

The second part is finding a city where our veterans and active military members can afford the homes in the area. It is recommended that no more than 28% of a homeowner’s household income should go towards monthly mortgage payments.

To locate and recognize these cities that are conducive to military homebuyers, LendEDU analyzed the most up-to-date data on over 25,000 U.S. cities.

To fulfill the first part of the equation, we began by narrowing our list down to the 1,000 cities that have the highest proportions of veterans and active military members within their populations.

And to fulfill the second part, we then ranked those 1,000 cities according to each one’s percentage of homes where the mortgage costs 30% or more of the household income. A lower percentage was more favorable.

While all 1,000 cities found below have proven to be great places for veterans and active military members to call home, the cities at the top of the list are especially great in that regard because they have also proven to be incredibly affordable for veteran and active military homebuyers that are using a mortgage.

The Most Affordable Cities For Veteran Homebuyers

To see how a city ranked within only its state, either sort the table on the “State” column or type your desired state into the search bar. 

To be considered for this ranking, a city had to have a minimum population of 15,000. Further, a city had to then rank in the top 1,000 for its percentage of veterans and active military members in its total population.

The final 1,000 cities were ranked according to each one’s percentage of homes where the mortgage costs 30% or more of the household income. A lower percentage was more favorable.

For each city, statistics pertaining to mortgage costs were gathered on a house-by-house basis. For example, if a specific house in Topeka, Kansas had a household income of $100,000 and the mortgage payments for the year on that same house totaled $32,000, it was added to the count of houses in Topeka where the mortgage costs 30% or more of the household income.

The data found below derives from a dataset from GreatData that was licensed by LendEDU. GreatData compiles the most up-to-date data and estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, in addition to calculating its own projections based on historical trends, to provide accurate and current household data for over 25,000 U.S. cities.

Tips for Veteran Homebuyers

In order for our veterans and active military members to find an affordable home, they need to ensure they are getting a reasonable deal on the mortgage they will use to finance the home purchase.

LendEDU lists a few tips below on how veteran and active military homebuyers can improve their chances of getting a favorable mortgage.

Know Your Mortgage Options as a Veteran

When in the process of buying a home with the help of a mortgage, veterans first need to be aware of all their financing options. Specifically, veterans should always look at VA home loans first, as they are home loans from private lenders that are backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Because this type of home loan is backed by the federal government, VA mortgage rates can oftentimes be very favorable even if the borrower puts little to no money down. During the homebuying process, veterans should compare VA mortgage rates to standard mortgage interest rates so that they know all available options and offers.

Determine a Budget

A key component of becoming a homeowner with the help of a mortgage is setting a budget so that the monthly mortgage payments are affordable relative to a veteran’s budget.

To help with this, LendEDU has a mortgage calculator that allows prospective homebuyers to estimate their monthly mortgage payments depending on the loan term, size, and interest rate.

Consider Refinancing in the Future

After a veteran has become a homeowner and met their monthly mortgage payments for a decent amount of time, it’s usually a good idea to at least consider a mortgage refinance that may lower the interest rate or make the home loan term more favorable.

LendEDU’s mortgage refinance calculator can give any homeowner a better idea as to how much money they could possibly save after refinancing their home loan.

Methodology

All data found in this report comes from GreatData. LendEDU licensed the dataset provided by GreatData, which derives mainly from the U.S. Census Bureau. For data points like “Percentage of Population That Are Veterans/In Military” and “Percentage of Houses Where Mortgage Costs 30% or More of Household Income,” the data derives from the most recent U.S. Census Bureau update but GreatData also calculates and combines its own projections based on historical trends to provide the most up-to-date data.

For each city, its total count of houses where the mortgage costs 30% or more of the household income was determined on a house-by-house basis. This means that the mortgage expense on a specific house in a city was compared against the household income for that same exact house in the same city. Citywide median or average figures for either household income or mortgage expense were not used to determine the data seen in the report.

To find out the mortgage expense for each house, the U.S. Census Bureau asked respondents the following: “How much is the regular monthly mortgage payment on THIS property? Include payment only on FIRST mortgage or contract to purchase.

To find a city’s percentage of houses where the mortgage costs 30% or more of the household income, LendEDU found a city’s total number of houses where the mortgage costs 30% or more of the household income and divided that figure by a city’s total number of houses with a mortgage.

To find out the percentage of a given city’s total population that was comprised of veterans or active military members, LendEDU summed together a city’s total count of veterans and active military members and divided that sum by the city’s total population according to the most recent estimates.

For some cities listed in the report, GreatData provided multiple ZIP Codes within the city, with each ZIP Code having its own data. In these instances, we combined all ZIP Code data for that city to provide a single stat line for each city.

To be considered for this ranking, a city had to have a minimum population of 15,000. Further, a city had to then rank in the top 1,000 for its percentage of veterans and active military members in its total population.

The final 1,000 cities were ranked according to each one’s percentage of homes where the mortgage costs 30% or more of the household income. A lower percentage was more favorable.

See more of LendEDU’s Research here.