I’m surprised to learn that California has more military services members than any other state.
California has several of the military's largest bases, including the Marines' Camp Pendleton and the complex of Navy ports and air bases in and around San Diego.
About 280,000 military service members and other Defense Department employees are stationed in California, according to the Defense Department. Virginia, with 250,000 troops and Defense Department employees, has the second highest number of military employees among all states.
And that’s after Fort Ord and Fort Hunter Liggett were deactivated. I guess Fort Irwin is still there along with a number of USAF bases. I wonder if they’re included in the 280k figure.
California — home to the largest number of active-duty troops in the nation — fares poorly in the survey when it comes to affordable housing, homelessness and the proportion of of businesses in the state that are owned by veterans.
The study broke down all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., in terms of economic environment (including tax friendliness and job opportunities), quality of life (including share of veterans and number of homeless vets), and health care (including the number of VA hospitals).
Though California rated middle of the pack (No. 21) for overall treatment of retired military, it ranked among the worst for economic conditions (No. 46).
The survey found that while California has one of the smallest veteran populations per capita (No. 48), the Golden State is tied with several others for the highest percentage of homeless veterans.
Much more @ The state with the most active-duty US troops is also too expensive for veterans to retire