States that are recovering the quickest from COVID-19

With the unemployment rate at 5.8% and around 42% of the population fully vaccinated, the personal-finance website WalletHub released updated rankings for the States That Are Recovering the Quickest From COVID-19.

To identify the states that are having the most successful recoveries, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 21 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of the population fully vaccinated to the real GDP vs. pre-COVID levels.

Recovery from COVID-19 in California (1=Quickest, 25=Avg.):

• 20^th – Share of Population Fully Vaccinated
• 24^th – Share of Vaccine Supply Used
• 15^th – COVID-19 Death Rate
• 6^th – COVID-19 Hospitalization Rate
• 37^th – Share of Hospitals with Staff Shortages
• 20^th – Share of Hospitals with Supply Shortages
• 42^nd – Average Daily Restaurant Visits
• 16^th – Real GDP vs. Pre-COVID Levels
• 45^th – Unemployment Rate vs. Pre-COVID Levels
• 47^th – Total Weekly Job Postings vs. Pre-COVID Levels
• 38^th – Total Weekly Consumer Spending vs. Pre-COVID Levels
• 15^th – Real Estate Active Listings vs. Pre-COVID Levels

Note: Rankings are based on data available as of 12:30 p.m. ET on June 7, 2021.

How does a state’s public health recovery impact its economic recovery?

“A state’s public health recovery is essential for its economic recovery. The biggest factors hurting the economy are restrictions on businesses and high unemployment, both of which are a direct result of necessary public health measures put in place to curb the pandemic,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “As COVID-19 cases and deaths decline in a state, the government can loosen restrictions and businesses can hire more as a result. Prioritizing vaccination will speed up the country’s public health recovery, which in turn will accelerate the economic recovery.”

Why are some states able to recover from the pandemic a lot faster than others?

“There are many reasons why some states can recover from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than others, some of which are that certain states have done a better job of minimizing COVID-19 transmission and have vaccinated residents at higher rates,” Gonzalez said. “A state’s climate can have a big impact on its recovery, too. Warmer states, like Florida, allow people to be outside more easily, which gives extra protection to the elderly and other vulnerable demographics. This has led to an economic boom for warmer states, and as people consider where to relocate after the pandemic, climate and tax rates will be among the biggest factors in their decisions.”

Why does Iowa rank as having the quickest recovery from COVID-19?

“Iowa ranks as having the quickest recovery from COVID-19 in part because it is one of only three states in the country that experienced an increase in small-business work hours compared to pre-pandemic levels,” Gonzalez added. “Iowa is one of only eight states in which no hospitals reported having supply shortages in the past week, too, and it has one of the lowest shares of COVID-related doctor visits in the past week.”

Why does Michigan rank as having the slowest recovery from COVID-19?

“Michigan ranks as having the slowest recovery from COVID-19 in part because it has some of the highest COVID-19 hospitalization and positive testing rates in the country,” she said. “Michigan has seen one of the biggest declines in real GDP due to the pandemic, it ranks as the seventh-highest when it comes to the share of hospitals reporting supply shortages and has one of the highest rates of COVID-related doctor visits in the past week.”

Source: WalletHub