FL Among The Safest States To Live In During COVID-19: Report

FLORIDA — When it comes to pandemic safety, some states — including Florida —are faring better than others. The Sunshine State is among the safest states to live in during COVID-19, ranking No. 7 overall, according to a new report.

Florida also currently takes the lead for having lowest COVID-19 death rate in the country, WalletHub, the company that conducted the study, found.

“In addition to having the lowest death rate in the nation in the past week, at around four per million, Florida ranks as the 19th highest when it comes to the share of the population age 12 and over who have received at least one dose of the vaccine,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Increasing the number of people vaccinated is essential for getting control of the pandemic.”

The state didn't get all high marks, however. Florida ranked dead last for having the highest hospitalization rate in the country. Because it performed well in other categories, one bad score wasn't enough to keep it out of the study's top 10 safest states list.

To find out the safest states during the COVID-19 pandemic, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics.

The company looked at the rates of COVID-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations and death, as well as the share of the eligible population getting vaccinated to determine its rankings.

These are the safest states to live in during COVID-19, according to WalletHub:

1. Hawaii
2. California
3. Virginia
4. District of Columbia
5. Maine
6. Oregon
7. Florida
8. Vermont
9. New Hampshire
10. Maryland

These are the least safe states to live in during COVID-19, according to WalletHub:

1. Oklahoma
2. Indiana
3. Ohio
4. Tennessee
5. Missouri
6. West Virginia
7. Mississippi
8. Arizona
9. Louisiana
10. Kentucky

To read WalletHub's full report, click here.