How to Maximize Your GI Bill Housing Allowance

Our hack shows good schools and where to live with the most money left over

This map shows what we believe is the best bang for vets’ buck in every state — taking into consideration the quality of the school, the housing allowance provided from the Post 9/11 GI Bill, plus the cost of living and safety of nearby neighborhoods.

“The GI Bill is one way the U.S. government makes sure the men and women who risk their lives for our country get what they deserve,” says Debt.com chairman Howard Dvorkin. “It covers the costs of a quality education and a reasonable allowance for housing, but doesn’t tell you where the most cost-efficient place is to live — a major factor in any budget.”

“We wanted to figure out how to maximize this important military benefit for veterans across the country so we made this map to help them plan for the next important step of their lives,” Dvorkin says.

Hover your cursor over a state to see the most cost efficient recommendation, and click it for more details about the school. Check it out, then see our methodology below.

Rank	School	Potential leftover housing allowance	Rank	School	Potential leftover housing allowance	Rank	School	Potential leftover housing allowance
1	Columbia University	$1,994	18	University of Missouri Kansas City	$438	35	University of Louisville	$252
2	University of Vermont	$1,079	19	Indiana University Southeast	$397	36	Portland State University	$241
3	Harvard University	$979	20	Miami University	$390	37	Jackson State University	$229
4	Yale University	$979	21	Centenary College of Louisiana	$367	38	University of Kansas	$198
5	Southern Methodist University	$924	22	College of Charleston	$356	39	University of Nebraska at Omaha	$195
6	University of Delaware	$771	23	University of New Hampshire at Manchester	$351	40	University of New England	$185
7	University of Chicago	$745	24	University of Minnesota Twin Cities	$343	41	Monmouth University	$179
8	University of Michigan	$715	25	University of Washington	$331	42	Northern Arizona University	$170
9	University of Alaska Southeast	$715	26	Montana State University	$325	43	University of Denver	$165
10	Vanderbilt University	$652	27	University of San Francisco	$308	44	Brigham Young University	$154
11	University of Hawaii at Manoa	$618	28	Bacone College	$304	45	University of Arkansas Little Rock	$152
12	Immaculata University	$578	29	Shepherd University	$298	46	University of Idaho	$144
13	Marquette University	$575	30	Savannah College of Art and Design	$286	47	University of Nevada Las Vegas	$119
14	University of Maryland	$552	31	University of Alabama at Birmingham	$284	48	St John’s College	$32
15	Minot State University	$506	32	Drake University	$284	49	University of South Dakota	$24
16	Elizabeth City State University	$502	33	Brown University	$278	50	University of Wyoming	$21
17	University of Miami	$499	34	George Mason University	$255

Methodology

What makes this map work is the fact GI Bill housing allowances are based on rent estimates for the zip code of the school you attend, not of where you decide to live — that’s a decision the military leaves squarely up to veterans.

We used the latest data behind the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ own GI Bill Comparison Tool along with rent estimates from Zillow and crime data from City-Data.com. Every school featured ranks on at least a regional list of U.S. News and World Report’s best colleges, and most rank high on the national list.

We focused mainly on maximizing the value of GI Bill benefits — not the nicest places to live. We made sure the towns mentioned have crime rates no higher than the national average, and that they’re within reasonable distance of the school — almost all are less than a 40-minute drive, and most are much less. But the idea is to show the most extreme examples to highlight the flexibility of housing allowances, recognizing that some of the leftover money can be traded back for a “neighborhood upgrade.” Urban areas tend to have a wider range of prices available.

There are a few important caveats to how the Post-9/11 GI Bill works. Our map assumes vets receive the maximum benefit payable, which generally requires 36 months of active-duty service, full-time enrollment, and in-state tuition rates. Benefits are available at a reduced rate for part-time and distance learning students.

The GI Bill may also not fully cover private schools or out-of-state tuition. However, something called the Yellow Ribbon program can help cover those extra costs, and many of the schools on our map participate. To check, click a state and look for the yellow ribbon in the upper right of the box that pops up. Only two of the private schools on the list are not currently Yellow Ribbon schools: Bacone College in Oklahoma and Brigham Young University in Utah.

One other thing to keep in mind — the housing allowance is also intended to help with utility costs. We couldn’t find a good source of data for average utility bills, so that money needs to be factored out of the amount left over we calculated.