Editor’s note: This article by Blake Stilwell originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community. 

Is Detroit a bad place to live? If you were to ask people who love the Motor City, they would probably tell you it's no better or worse than any other major metropolitan area, but there are things to love about it. But if you were to ask a veteran, apparently, they might tell you life in Michigan's most populous city has some challenges.

That's according to WalletHub, a consumer personal finance website, which ranked Detroit dead last on its annual list of the top 100 cities in America for veterans.

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To produce its rankings, WalletHub broke down 19 metrics in four key areas of concern that were determined by a panel of military and academic experts. These areas were employment, economy, quality of life and health, while the ranking's 19 metrics included everyday things such as housing affordability, veteran unemployment, the number of VA facilities and the quality of those facilities (there were also less important, but still military-friendly offerings, like the availability of military discounts in the communities).

WalletHub graded each city in those four areas, then ranked the top 100 cities based on their findings.

"Various factors can influence how good or bad a city is for veterans," Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst, said in a statement accompanying the rankings' release in late October. "All cities should prioritize taking care of veterans' needs, considering how much veterans have sacrificed to serve the country and keep it safe. However, 45% of military members think the U.S. does not care for its veterans financially."

Topping WalletHub's list once again is 2022's No. 1 city for veterans, Raleigh, North Carolina, while Austin, Texas and Orlando, Florida, are a close second and third. Other cities in the top 10 may not come as a surprise, given the number of military bases and retired personnel living in those cities. Tampa, Florida, home of the U.S. Special Operations Command and MacDill Air Force Base, is No. 4 on the list. At No. 5 is Virginia Beach, where Naval Air Station Oceana and other installations live.

The bottom of the list is filled with much larger cities, which face more complicated issues along with much more difficult budget decisions. Rounding out the bottom five places for veterans alongside Detroit are Jersey City, New Jersey; Chicago; Memphis, Tennessee; and Newark, New Jersey.

But WalletHub experts believe that federal policy has a role to play in determining how inhospitable these places are for veterans.

"Some cities set aside an adequate amount of money for veterans affairs while others do not, either because they do not have enough of a budget or veterans aren't prioritized. Even though cities have a responsibility to their veterans, the federal government is also responsible for them," said Happe. "We spend a massive amount of money on national defense and military operations, yet a comparatively small amount on helping veterans once their service is done."

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WalletHub also uncovered some interesting standout findings in these cities while compiling the scores for the rankings.

For example, while Toledo, Ohio, ranked in the bottom 10 on the overall list, it was at No. 1 for its percentage of military skill-related jobs. And while Irving, Texas, came in last for the number of military skill-related jobs, it was tied for No. 1 with the lowest veteran unemployment rate in the country and had the fifth-lowest poverty rate for vets.

Atlanta could boast the highest veteran income growth over the past year, but it also ranked second to last in the number of homeless veterans per veteran population. Veterans in Santa Ana, California, might be surprised to find they're close to the bottom for veteran employment, but can take solace in the fact the city is tied for first in overall health care.

In the complete WalletHub List of Best and Worst Places for Veterans 2023, readers can sift through different rankings based on overall performance and the four key areas that made up the overall scores. So anyone getting out of the military thinking Detroit might be the promised land now has a place to go if they start to reconsider their reasoning.