Veterans' haven no more

San Diego was known for decades as a haven for military veterans, but in the past several decades, the cost of living has eroded the city's position. WalletHub, which keeps statistics on states, metro areas, and cities, says San Diego is in sixth place among 100 cities for veterans' livability.

WalletHub looked at several variables. Ones related to the economy are percentage of military skill-related jobs; vet unemployment rate; vet job and income growth; housing affordability, and veterans' incomes adjusted for cost of living. In these items, San Diego comes in 54th among 100 cities.

The second category is environment, education, and health: veteran population per 1000 residents; relative availability of Veterans Administration facilities; educational and recreational opportunities; weather; crime rate, and emotional health. San Diego is first among the 100 cities in this category.

Overall, the top two cities are Irvine and Scottsdale. The two lowest are Newark and Detroit.