Vermont less affected by Fed shutdown than you might think

Submitted by tim on Mon, 01/22/2018 - 07:39

Vermont Business Magazine With the US government closed for business for the 19^th time since 1976, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States Most & Least Affected by the 2018 Government Shutdown to add some hard data to all the rhetoric. Vermont is relatively low on the list, ranked 41st (New Hampshire, 40th), especially considering that in a separate study the state is ranked one of the highest (5th) in its overall budget dependent on federal finances. WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of six key metrics, ranging from each state’s share of federal jobs and contracts to the percentage of kids covered by CHIP. You can review the main findings below.

To determine whose homes a government shutdown strikes closest to, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across six key metrics. They range from each state’s share of federal jobs and contracts to the percentage of kids covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Key Stats

Red states are less affected by the government shutdown than Blue states, ranking 28.17 and 22.90, respectively, on average. (lower rank = greater impact).
California has the highest percentage of children under CHIP, 22.1 percent. That’s 73.7 times higher than in Minnesota, the state with the lowest, at 0.3 percent.
Georgia has the highest average small business loan size, $459,133. That’s 5.2 times higher than in Hawaii, the state with the lowest average loan size, at $88,608.
Wisconsin has the lowest share of federal jobs, at 1.03 percent. The average state has 2.6 times more federal jobs, at 2.63 percent.

Most & Least Affected States

Overall Rank (1 = Most Affected)	State	Total Score	Overall Rank (1 = Most Affected)	State	Total Score
1	District of Columbia	70.42	27	Pennsylvania	30.53
2	Maryland	70.41	28	Kentucky	28.10
3	Virginia	67.67	29	Missouri	28.05
4	Alaska	58.29	30	New York	27.66
5	Hawaii	51.86	31	Connecticut	27.62
6	New Mexico	48.87	32	New Jersey	27.38
7	Montana	47.96	33	Nevada	27.01
8	Oklahoma	45.65	34	Wisconsin	26.78
9	California	44.37	35	Louisiana	26.74
10	Alabama	42.33	36	Nebraska	26.41
11	Colorado	41.80	37	Florida	26.19
12	Rhode Island	39.92	38	Kansas	25.59
13	Mississippi	38.54	39	South Carolina	25.24
14	West Virginia	38.22	40	New Hampshire	25.13
15	Maine	37.37	41	Vermont	24.92
16	Texas	36.85	42	North Dakota	24.49
17	Arizona	33.84	43	North Carolina	24.15
18	Massachusetts	33.74	44	Illinois	23.49
19	Idaho	32.74	45	Iowa	22.92
20	Utah	32.72	46	Tennessee	22.15
21	South Dakota	32.04	47	Ohio	20.64
22	Georgia	31.74	48	Delaware	19.51
23	Washington	31.57	49	Indiana	17.93
24	Wyoming	31.06	50	Michigan	13.79
25	Arkansas	30.86	51	Minnesota	13.31
26	Oregon	30.58

State ready for federal shutdown

Methodology

Share of Federal Jobs: Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
Note: This metric measures the federal employment as a share of total employment.
Federal Contract Dollars Per Capita: Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
% of Children under CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program): Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
Small Business Lending: Half Weight (~12.50 Points)
Note: This metric measures both the average SBA 7a loan size and the % of small businesses that get SBA 7a loans.
Real Estate as Percentage of Gross State Product: Quarter Weight (~6.25 Points)
Note: Gross State Product is the equivalent of GDP but at the state level. Mortgage processing will be affected by staffing shortages in the IRS, FHA and VA.
Access to National Parks: Quarter Weight (~6.25 Points)
Note: This metric measures both the number of national parks per capita and the acres of national parks per capita.

Source: WalletHub 1.22.2018 Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, usaspending.gov, Fit Small Business, National Association of Realtors, National Park Service and Kaiser Family Foundation.