Boston Ranked Fourth-Worst U.S. City for Veterans

Photo (Cropped) by Tim Pierce on Flickr/Creative Commons

Boston is the fourth-worst U.S. city for veterans, according to a new study released by WalletHub just in time for Veterans Day.

The personal finance social network released its list of the best and worst cities for veterans Monday, placing Boston squarely in the basement. Only Detroit, Newark, and Hileah, Florida, scored worse.

To compile the ranking, WalletHub compared the 100 most populated U.S. cities using 18 metrics, including the number of homeless veterans per capita, percentage of veterans below the poverty line, rate of veteran income growth, and veteran income adjusted for the cost of living index.

Out of these 100 cities, Boston placed 91st for veteran income adjusted for cost of living, 93rd for percentage of vets below the poverty line, 90th for number of homeless vets per 1,000, and 89th for housing affordability.

Mayor Marty Walsh is scheduled to make a “funding announcement” in regard to the city’s “Homes for the Brave” initiative at Brighton Marine Health Center Wednesday afternoon. Last year, Walsh unveiled an action plan aimed at eliminating chronic homelessness by 2018 and veteran homelessness by the end of this year.

Last week, the city held its first-ever “housing surge,” in which 60 homeless veterans gathered at the Pine Street Inn and met with 11 partner agencies, including the Veterans Administration, which offered benefits, and the Boston Housing Authority, which helped certify the vets for housing vouchers to be used in the private market.

“One of the biggest barriers for a returning veteran is finding safe, affordable housing,” Walsh said in a statement. “We must do all that we can to honor the men and women who have served our country, and I thank all of the partners who stepped forward to make this event a success. No veteran should be homeless—and in Boston, we are working to make that a reality.”