WalletHub | Coronavirus isn’t just a danger to Americans’ health. It’s also a menace to our wallets. It’s led to the closing of scores of non-essential events and businesses, hurting the livelihood of many people.
The U.S. stock market has lost over 20 percent of its value, and the U.S. government was forced to pass a $2 trillion stimulus package. Some of the main features of the plan include sending checks to Americans, giving loans to businesses and providing extra funding for hospitals. Hopefully, this aid will start to turn the economic downturn around in a time when the number of unemployment insurance claims being filed is rising sharply.
Some states are better positioned economically to deal with the coronavirus pandemic than others. North Carolina is not among them. In a WalletHub comparison study, North Carolina ranked 15th worst in the nation.
To find out the states whose economies are most exposed to COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 10 unique metrics. The data set ranges from share of employment from small businesses to share of workers with access to paid sick leave and increase in unemployment insurance claims. Read on for the full ranking, additional insight from a panel of experts and a complete description of our methodology.
Here’s the full charge.
State Economies Most Exposed to Coronavirus
| Overall Rank | State | Total Score | ‘High Impact Industries & Workforce’ Rank | ‘Resources for Businesses to Cope Better with the Crisis’ Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana | 68.12 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | 63.17 | 2 | 16 |
| 3 | Nevada | 60.71 | 3 | 23 |
| 4 | Maine | 57.58 | 4 | 31 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 55.98 | 5 | 39 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 54.34 | 8 | 15 |
| 7 | Montana | 54.27 | 6 | 36 |
| 8 | New Jersey | 53.32 | 15 | 5 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 51.91 | 7 | 27 |
| 10 | Illinois | 50.57 | 24 | 3 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 50.35 | 34 | 1 |
| 12 | Michigan | 50.17 | 20 | 14 |
| 13 | Ohio | 50.02 | 18 | 18 |
| 14 | New Mexico | 49.53 | 10 | 33 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 49.36 | 16 | 22 |
| 16 | District of Columbia | 49.23 | 9 | 38 |
| 17 | Minnesota | 48.90 | 11 | 35 |
| 18 | Kansas | 48.03 | 29 | 6 |
| 19 | Indiana | 48.02 | 23 | 11 |
| 20 | Maryland | 47.25 | 22 | 19 |
| 21 | Mississippi | 47.12 | 44 | 2 |
| 22 | South Carolina | 46.39 | 30 | 13 |
| 23 | Florida | 46.25 | 19 | 37 |
| 24 | New York | 45.70 | 26 | 17 |
| 25 | Colorado | 45.60 | 14 | 44 |
| 26 | Hawaii | 45.24 | 17 | 42 |
| 27 | North Dakota | 44.85 | 13 | 46 |
| 28 | Vermont | 44.66 | 21 | 41 |
| 29 | Oklahoma | 44.52 | 27 | 24 |
| 30 | Tennessee | 44.45 | 31 | 21 |
| 31 | Virginia | 44.39 | 25 | 26 |
| 32 | Washington | 43.82 | 12 | 48 |
| 33 | Delaware | 43.57 | 42 | 12 |
| 34 | Wisconsin | 42.64 | 47 | 10 |
| 35 | Texas | 42.34 | 36 | 25 |
| 36 | Arizona | 42.28 | 33 | 29 |
| 37 | West Virginia | 41.94 | 48 | 8 |
| 38 | Iowa | 40.93 | 46 | 20 |
| 39 | Connecticut | 40.45 | 37 | 32 |
| 40 | Missouri | 39.99 | 43 | 28 |
| 41 | Idaho | 38.82 | 35 | 43 |
| 42 | Arkansas | 38.78 | 49 | 7 |
| 43 | Nebraska | 38.72 | 45 | 30 |
| 44 | Alabama | 38.42 | 50 | 9 |
| 45 | South Dakota | 38.12 | 40 | 40 |
| 46 | Wyoming | 37.73 | 28 | 50 |
| 47 | Utah | 36.75 | 39 | 45 |
| 48 | Oregon | 36.43 | 32 | 51 |
| 49 | Alaska | 35.74 | 38 | 49 |
| 50 | California | 35.69 | 41 | 47 |
| 51 | Georgia | 32.87 | 51 | 34 |
