Summary: With Jill Gonzalez, Personal Finance guru and Spokesperson for <a href="http://WalletHub.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WalletHub.com</a><br> Steve talked with <a href="https://wallethub.com/profile/13745532i">Jill Gonzalez</a>, personal finance guru and spokesperson for Wallethub.com, to learn how much greater the impact of the coronavirus is in some states than in others along with the specific ways in which the various states are affected.<br> Jill is an expert in personal finance and investing and Wallethub did extensive research to find out which states are the most shut down and suffering the heaviest from the coronavirus pandemic.<br> Which States Are Shut Down The Most?<br> Jill explained that Wallethub’s study looked at six different metrics showing the decrease in visits to various types of places due to the coronavirus. Categories that were measured included retail stores, recreation areas, grocery stores, and workplaces. States were graded on a scale of 0 to 100.<br> Steve informed listeners that the state experiencing the most severe coronavirus shutdown overall is Hawaii which has a score of 92. Jill attributes Hawaii’s high score primarily to the fact that the state is so heavily reliant on travel and tourism, two industries that have virtually ground to a standstill. She noted that one interesting finding of the study was that even trips to grocery stores have declined by approximately 60% in Hawaii.<br> Number two on the list of hardest-hit states is—not surprisingly—New York. According to Jill, “In New York, people are still going to places like grocery stores, but everything else is pretty much a no-go. New York has seen the largest decline in the retail and recreation industries, along with usage of public transportation.” She remarked that the huge drop-off in people using public transportation is really hard to fathom for a city like New York, where so many people traditionally use the subway system.<br> Jill believes that New York City is one area where some of the changes brought about by the coronavirus are likely to have lingering, permanent effects on how people work and live. For example, she expects that many people who have transitioned from working in an office to working at home will continue being telecommuters even when the “shelter in place” restrictions are lifted.<br> How Is Florida Doing?<br> When Steve specifically asked where Florida ranked, Jill replied that it came in as the 6th hardest-hit state. Like Hawaii, a lot of Florida’s economy is driven by the travel and tourism industries. She added that another reason for Florida’s high ranking is the large elderly population there. She said, “I think the elderly are trying to keep themselves safe, not really venturing out as much,” and she added, “Florida is an interesting case. We see reports on the news of very crowded beaches while at the same time a lot of elderly communities are really locking down.”<br> Steve expressed some skepticism about how widespread the use of the beaches is, reporting that in the South Florida area where he resides, all of the parks and beaches are still closed.<br> States Suffering The Least From The Coronavirus<br> So, which states are on the other end of the scale, the ones that are the least shut down? As of the first of May, the state that’s the least shut down is Nebraska, followed by Kansas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Iowa, Alabama, and Ohio. Jill summed the situation up by saying, “There are a lot of Midwestern and Southern states that are showing the lowest level of shutdown or economic slowdown. And some of those states are already starting to reopen, at least partially.”<br> Red States Versus Blue States<br> Steve ran down some of the analysis done by industry rather than just by state. He told listeners, “The states seeing the biggest hits to the retail industry and the recreation industry are—in order,
