Where do vets tend to live? They don’t gravitate toward big cities, tending to live most often in small towns and rural areas, according to Census data.

Real estate site Trulia recently took a look at 500 metros in the country to find those with the highest share of vets. Oak Harbor ranked number two and Bremerton-Silverdale number 10.

Military veterans are more likely to be home owners than other adults, with a 79 percent home ownership rate for vets compared to 63 percent for everyone else.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs loan program, as well as other incentives, are assisting many vets in achieving homeownership.
Here are the top housing markets for vets:

1. Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla.: 22.3% of the civilian population are veterans
2. Oak Harbor, Wash.: 22%
3. Jacksonville, N.C.: 21.4%
4. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas: 21.2%
5. The Villages, Fla.: 20.4%
6. Sierra Visa-Douglas, Ariz.: 20.2%
7. Fayetteville, N.C.: 20%
8. Lawton, Okla.: 19.6%
9. Clarksville, Tenn.-Ky.: 19.2%
10. Bremerton-Silverdale, Wash.: 19.1%

Where vets live may depend on when they served, the study suggests. For example, the study found that Gulf War vets tend to reside in different places than World War II vets. Overall, vets are more likely to live near military bases and areas with active-duty residents, which is particularly true among Gulf War vets.

They are also more likely to live in more affordable, lower-density areas, which was found to be the most evident among Vietnam Era vets. Korean War or World War II vets are more likely to reside in retirement areas, mostly found in Florida.