Where veterans are buying the most homes

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Where veterans are buying the most homes

Aerial view of condos and a pier in Virginia Beach, Virginia at sunset.

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 the 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).

SmartAsset

Top 10 Metro Areas Where Veterans Are Buying Homes Fastest

Table showing where veterans are buying the most homes.

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.