By: Senior Vice President of Member Programs, Adam Smith

Virginia is home to roughly 115,000 military active-duty personnel. Following California and Texas, we are ranked third in the nation with the highest total active duty and reserve personnel population. Military installations for all branches of service are spread throughout the Commonwealth, from Northern Virginia to Hampton Roads and even all the way out to Pulaski and Montgomery Counties. A service member’s orders to a new duty station is typically for a three-year assignment, so turnover is continuous. Moreover, the Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that nearly 700,000 veterans reside in the Commonwealth, making ours the eighth largest veteran population in the nation.

As REALTORS^®, we should be proud to serve those who have served us. That is why I am recommending the Military Relocation Professional (MRP) certification. The program educates REALTORS^® about working with U.S. service members, their families, and veterans to find the housing solutions that best suit their needs and to take full advantage of their benefits. To learn more about obtaining this certification, click on the link in this paragraph or visit the Military Relocation Professional Website.

If you are interested in seeing more military and veteran data, check out the links below.

Military Active-Duty Personnel, Civilians by State (Source: Governing.com)

U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Virginia Summary (Source: USVA)

Veteran Population by State: FY 2019 (Source: USVA)