November 11, 2019

State Veteran Benefit Finder

By: Carole House, Emma Moore, Brent Peabody and Kayla M. Williams

In the post-9/11 era, a “sea of goodwill” made up of organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors has formed to support veterans, servicemembers, their families, and survivors. While services from nonprofit organizations and federal agencies are widely known, benefits offered by states to veterans are less so. State-level benefits, though extensive, vary widely and are often difficult to identify. With this State Veteran Benefit Finder, CNAS makes information about 1,871 identified benefits easily searchable. This tool allows users to filter state-level veteran benefits by type of benefit, beneficiary, and state to identify benefits for which they may be eligible, providing a unique and invaluable reference. The accompanying report offers analysis of trends in state-level benefits and includes recommendations for an array of key stakeholders, from veterans to those who serve them across domains.

To identify benefits, select desired variables in the Benefit Category, Beneficiary, Benefit Subcategory, and/or State boxes below. Each benefit listed in this tool links to a government website with additional information.

Read the full report, From Sea to Shining Sea, here.

Notes: Because only benefits related to veteran benefits were included in this analysis, benefits available to the general public as well as veterans—for example through Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), among others—were not included or coded. This means there are other benefits available to veterans: this is not a definitive list of all available state benefits. Federal benefits for veterans are also not listed except when states have a program or office to help substantively administer or accept federal level benefits. In addition, benefits can change at any point in time; the information presented here was collected between February 15 and May 16, 2019 and may no longer be current by the date of publication. In addition, the information referenced is not meant to be legal advice or imply that eligibility for any particular benefit is guaranteed. Due to its complexity, this data set is not the definitive resource on all permutations of benefits and their accessibility to different categories of veterans. Nor does this analysis account for past changes in services offered. There is no guarantee an individual will qualify for or be able to access the benefits listed. Interested parties should follow the link provided and carefully review the full details provided by states to understand any additional limitations and confirm individual eligibility. Each included benefit is accessible as a resource on a government website.

Authors

  • Carole House

    Former Adjunct Research Assistant, Military, Veterans, and Society

    Carole House is an Adjunct Research Assistant with the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), in partnership with the Vetera...

  • Emma Moore

    Former Research Associate

    Emma Moore is a former Research Associate at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Moore is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Creati...

  • Brent Peabody

    Former Intern, Military, Veterans, and Society Program

    Brent Peabody is a former Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Intern for the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS)....

  • Kayla M. Williams

    Former Senior Fellow and Director, Military, Veterans, and Society Program

    Kayla M. Williams is a former Senior Fellow and Director of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS)....

More from CNAS

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia