In my opinion, there is one group of people that is the most deserving of anything and everything we can possibly give them as an expression of our appreciation for the sacrifices that they have made for us.

It's our veterans. The men and women who have worn the uniform to help protect the freedoms we hold so close to our hearts.

Obviously, there are a lot of people in these parts that feel the same way about our vets because South Dakota has been named as the top state for veterans in the nation.

SmartAsset considered a number of different factors to determine which states do the best job supporting veterans. They looked at the percentage of vets in a state's population, unemployment rates, housing costs, and access to health facilities for veterans.

In South Dakota's case, we provide the most Veterans Administration health facilities per 100,000 veterans of any state in America (21.04).

The Mount Rushmore State also has the third-lowest housing costs as a percentage of income for veterans among the top ten states (23.89%), as well as the fifth-highest percentage of veteran-owned businesses in the nation (10.45%), and the sixth-highest percentage of veterans as a percentage of the population among the top six states (8.55%).

South Dakota also gets high marks for being one of 30 states that do not tax military pensions.

BEST STATES IN AMERICA FOR VETERANS (SmartAsset)  

  1. South Dakota
  2. Wyoming
  3. North Dakota
  4. West Virginia
  5. Maine
  6. Alaska
  7. Nebraska
  8. New Hampshire
  9. Montana
  10. Hawaii
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