Through their service, veterans earn certain benefits for home buying not available to the general population, including special loans facilitated by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). These VA loans can enable prior service members to purchase homes more easily than with a conventional or even FHA loan – often with a 0% down payment.

With these benefits in mind, SmartAsset ranked the 40 largest metro areas based on demand among veteran homebuyers, using the most recently available mortgage data.

Key Findings

Veterans are buying homes in the Virginia Beach metro at almost double or more the rate than any other metro. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News ranked first both for the rate at which veterans are buying homes and for the raw number. A total of 11,392 VA loans were issued in 2023 alone.
In general, veterans prefer mid-Atlantic and income-tax-free states. Four of the top five metro areas are in states that charge no income taxes to individuals (Texas, Florida and Nevada), giving veterans a boost on their income. The rest of the top 10 shows a heavy preference for mid-Atlantic states, including Virginia Beach, Washington D.C., Raleigh-Cary and Baltimore metro areas.
Veterans are paying the lowest interest rates in these Texas areas. The San Antonio and Austin metros saw the lowest rates on veteran mortgages issued in 2023, at 5.75% and 5.88%, respectively. San Antonio ranked second overall for where veterans are buying homes fastest, while Austin was 18th. The median interest rate on VA loans in the 40 largest metro areas was 6.25%.
Despite its history as a military city, veterans only purchased 54 total homes in the San Francisco metro. This puts San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley in last place overall. However, it ranks first in two metrics: The highest property values purchased by veterans ($1.13 million) as well as the highest incomes among new veteran homeowners ($214,000).

Top 10 Metro Areas Where Veterans Are Buying Homes Fastest

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0063
Number of VA loans issued: 11,392
Total population: 1,808,102
Median interest rate on VA loans: 6.25%
Median property value: $345,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $97,000

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0036
Number of VA loans issued: 9,526
Total population: 2,655,342
Median interest rate on VA loans: 5.75%
Median property value: $345,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $108,000

Jacksonville, FL

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0035
Number of VA loans issued: 5,880
Total population: 1,675,668
Median interest rate on VA loans: 6.00%
Median property value: $365,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $98,000

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0019
Number of VA loans issued: 6,263
Total population: 3,290,730
Median interest rate on VA loans: 6.13%
Median property value: $405,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $108,000

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0018
Number of VA loans issued: 4,285
Total population: 2,322,985
Median interest rate on VA loans: 5.99%
Median property value: $435,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $105,000

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0015
Number of VA loans issued: 9,876
Total population: 6,373,829
Median interest rate on VA loans: 6.07%
Median property value: $565,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $154,000

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0014
Number of VA loans issued: 7,007
Total population: 5,015,678
Median interest rate on VA loans: 6.00%
Median property value: $435,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $105,000

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0013
Number of VA loans issued: 8,329
Total population: 6,222,908
Median interest rate on VA loans: 6.25%
Median property value: $385,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $101,000

Raleigh-Cary, NC

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0013
Number of VA loans issued: 1,968
Total population: 1,484,338
Median interest rate on VA loans: 6.13%
Median property value: $405,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $109,000

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

VA loans issued per capita: 0.0013
Number of VA loans issued: 3,617
Total population: 2,835,672
Median interest rate on VA loans: 6.25%
Median property value: $435,000
Median veteran-homebuyer income: $128,000

Data and Methodology

To find where veterans are buying the most homes, SmartAsset reviewed Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for 2023. Specifically, the number of originated VA loans was considered, relative to the size of the local population in the same metro area as according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data. The median income of new associated veteran homeowners, as well as subject property value and interest rates, were also considered.

Questions about our study? Contact us at press@smartasset.com

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