【Zillow】Military Veterans, Some Active-Duty Households Enjoy a Housing Affordability Edge

Active-duty military households spend 24.9% of their incomes on market rent, while veteran households spend 20.1% – significantly less than the 29.6% of income that the typical U.S. household pays for rent in 2019. Service members and veterans also pay a lower share of their incomes on mortgages: 13.4% and 10.9%, respectively, compared with 16% for all U.S. households.

Some of the affordability advantages of active-duty service members and veterans likely stem from a few of the little-discussed benefits they receive for their service. Most notably, military personnel that do not live in government-provided housing (typically on-base housing) receive housing stipends on top of their base pay in the form of the Basic Allowance for Housing, which help defray housing costs. Medical care for military members, veterans and their families is also often free or heavily subsidized depending on their status, leaving more money to spend on housing. Finally, service members have a range of high-quality, on-the-job training opportunities in fields as diverse as IT, mechanical repair and engineering — valuable skills they can take with them into the civilian workforce to help boost their income after their time in the military.

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