With the pandemic turning economies upside down and forcing people to stay at home, states across the U.S. are slowly coping with the changes. Some industries have naturally suffered from this more than others – retail and recreation visits are down 45 percent from their normal rates, while transit stations have seen a decrease of 49 percent, for example. However, the drop-off in people leaving their homes has been less pronounced in some states than others.
With states finally reopening and allowing people to return to normalcy, WalletHub released a study this week, ranking Florida 6th in states most slowed by the coronavirus.
People are staying home at unprecedented rates due to the #coronavirus pandemic. Is your state slowing down more or less than others? Find out here: https://t.co/OQvDFK0csP #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/QlSbPPEjot
— WalletHub (@wallethub) April 21, 2020
In order to find out which states are slowing down most during the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance compared the 50 states across six key metrics. Each metric measures the percentage point increase or decrease in visits to various types of places due to coronavirus. The categories analyzed were:
- Retail & Recreation Mobility Changes – the percentage point increase or decrease in visits for places like restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, theme parks, museums, libraries, and movie theatres.
- Grocery & Pharmacy Mobility Changes – the percentage point increase or decrease in visits for places like grocery markets, food warehouses, farmers markets, specialty food shops, drug stores, and pharmacies.
- Parks Mobility Changes – the percentage point increase or decrease in visits for places like national parks, public beaches, marinas, dog parks, plazas, and public gardens.
- Transit Stations Mobility Changes – the percentage point increase or decrease in visits for places like public transport hubs such as subway, bus, and train stations.
- Workplaces Mobility Changes – the percentage point increase or decrease in visits for places of work.
- Residential Mobility Changes – the percentage point increase or decrease in visits for places of residence.
Here are the rankings in each category that contributed to Florida’s standing.
Slowdown Due to COVID-19 in Florida (1=Most Slowed, 25=Avg.):
- 7th – Retail & Recreation Mobility Changes
- 3rd – Grocery & Pharmacy Mobility Changes
- 2nd – Parks Mobility Changes
- 2nd – Transit Stations Mobility Changes
- 9th – Workplaces Mobility Changes
- 9th – Residential Mobility Changes
For the most part, Florida ranked in the top 10 in most metrics. Most notably, Florida ranked 2nd in Parks Mobility Changes due to executives orders issued by Governor Ron DeSantis that closed down beaches across the state.
Only five states — Nevada, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, and Hawaii — ranked higher than Florida in WalletHub’s study.
For the full report, click HERE.