PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island was the No. 11 most impacted state by the partial federal shutdown, according to a new WalletHub report released Thursday.
The report was based on five considerations: federal jobs, federal contract spending, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, real estate as a percentage of state output and access to national parks.
Rhode Island ranked No. 16 highest in the country for federal jobs as the share of the total workforce at 2.3 percent.
The Ocean State also ranked No. 12 for highest percentage of families in a state receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at 15.5 percent. Business Insider has reported that SNAP benefits will be fulfilled in January using previously appropriated funds, but that there was no U.S. Department of Agriculture commitment for February, should the government be shut down that long.
Rhode Island also ranked No. 39 in the nation for highest amount of federal contract spending per capita in the nation at $672.45.
In addition to these considerations, the study also considered real estate as a percentage of gross state product and access to national parks. Real estate was considered because the shutdown may affect the speed with which mortgages are approved, WalletHub noted.
Rhode Island 13th highest in the nation for real estate as a percentage of GSP at 18.8 percent and No. 19 for access to national parks. National park rankings considered the number of national parks per capita and the acres of national parks per capita.
New Mexico was the state most impacted by the shutdown, according to the study, behind the District of Columbia which ranked higher than any states. The least affected state was determined to be Minnesota.
In New England, Rhode Island (No. 11) was deemed the most impacted state, followed by Maine (No. 13), Vermont (No. 27), Connecticut (No. 30), Massachusetts (No. 34) and New Hampshire (No. 50).
