NJ misses Top 10 for residents feeling biggest financial hit from COVID-19

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New Jersey just missed inclusion in the Top 10 in a recent study detailing which state’s residents are hurting feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic the most in their wallets.

SmartAsset listed the Garden State at No. 12 in its ranking of “States Where Residents are Financially Hurting the Most during COVID-19,” released on June 2.

Neighboring New York ranked at No. 6 – the only state from the Northeast to crack the Top 10, which placed Louisiana at No. 1.

According to personal finance technology company SmartAsset, more than 1 in 4 individuals filed for unemployment over the past eight weeks. New Jersey hit a new record for unemployment during the week ending May 16, with the state rate hitting 15.3 percent.

The study compared all 50 states across six metrics:

• the April 2020 unemployment rate;
• the increase in unemployment during COVID-19 – the percentage point different between February 2020’s and April 2020’s rate;
• the unemployment replacement rate under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – the ratio of average unemployment benefits, including the additional $600 weekly Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, received to a worker’s average weekly salary;
• the percentage of adults experiencing housing insecurity – based on adults who missed May’s rent or mortgage payment, or who fear they will not be able to make next month’s payment on time;
• the percentage of adults experiencing food insufficiency; and
• the poverty rate.

In New Jersey, these numbers came in at 15.3 percent, 32.2 percent, 10.2 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.

Among its key findings, SmartAsset said the report indicates residents in more populated states may be taking the largest financial hit. Overall Top-10-ranking New York, California, Texas and Florida – all among the most populous states in the nation – also all fell within the 15 states in the study with the highest recent housing insecurity, and the 25 states with the most recent food insufficiency. New Jersey’s 32.3 percent earned it a No. 3 spot based on housing insecurity and a No. 19 spot for food insufficiency.