FEMA // Wikicommons
1 / 51#51. Minnesota
Affected index: 13.31
Federal employees: 32,343
States most affected by government shutdowns
On January 19, 2018, the United States government shut down for three days when congressional leaders were unable to come to an agreement on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, federal spending, and immigration. For many Americans, the shutdown was a mere annoyance—one more thing for pundits to lament on cable news programs. It was hardly the first time this has happened, after all: the federal government has shut down in the face of a funding gap 18 times before. This time, the government shut down just before Christmas day, after a spending deal could not be reached Dec. 22. This is now the third government shutdown of 2018, and has extended into 2019.
For those outside of the White House, the shutdown forced their daily lives to grind to a halt. During a shutdown, members of the military stop receiving paychecks until the funding gap is resolved. A lack of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes it difficult for people in need to get flu shots and other public health treatments. Taxpayers may not be able to get the help they need from the IRS, and federal loan applications for small businesses, rural communities, and prospective homeowners are frozen altogether.
To paint a clearer picture of how government shutdowns affect each state, Stacker referenced WalletHub data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, usaspending.gov, Fit Small Business, National Association of Realtors, National Park Service and the Kaiser Family Foundation. WalletHub calculated the effect of the government shutdown on six metrics: federal jobs as a share of total state unemployment, federal contract dollars per capita, the percentage of children under the Children's Health Insurance Program, small business lending, real estate as a percentage of the gross state product, and access to national parks. The weighted average of those scores reveals the overall impact of government shutdowns on each state; we've included the number of federal employees in each state as of September 2017 as additional context.
Read on to discover the states where government shutdowns have the biggest impact.
Samantha Appleton // Official White House Photo
2 / 51#50. Michigan
Affected index: 13.79
Federal employees: 52,617
Senior Airman Jami K. Lancette // U.S. Air Force
3 / 51#49. Indiana
Affected index: 17.93
Federal employees: 37,913
Senior Airman Aaron J. Jenne // U.S. Air Force
4 / 51#48. Delaware
Affected index: 19.51
Federal employees: 5,748
Ken LaRock // U.S. Air Force
5 / 51#47. Ohio
Affected index: 20.64
Federal employees: 78,369
Jack Corn // National Archives and Records Administration // Wikicommons
6 / 51#46. Tennessee
Affected index: 22.15
Federal employees: 48,873
FEMA // Wikicommons
7 / 51#45. Iowa
Affected index: 22.92
Federal employees: 17,792
Spc. Ian Withrow, 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment // U.S. Army National Guard
8 / 51#44. Illinois
Affected index: 23.49
Federal employees: 79,588
Wikicommons
9 / 51#43. North Carolina
Affected index: 24.15
Federal employees: 72,427
FEMA // Wikicommons
10 / 51#42. North Dakota
Affected index: 24.49
Federal employees: 9,421
Kenneth C. Zirkel // Wikicommons
11 / 51#41. Vermont
Affected index: 24.92
Federal employees: 6,942
Irving Rusinow // National Archives and Records Administration // Wikicommons
12 / 51#40. New Hampshire
Affected index: 25.13
Federal employees: 7,617
Akhenaton06 // Wikicommons
13 / 51#39. South Carolina
Affected index: 25.24
Federal employees: 33,610
Wikicommons
14 / 51#38. Kansas
Affected index: 25.59
Federal employees: 25,081
Wikicommons
15 / 51#37. Florida
Affected index: 26.19
Federal employees: 138,913
Wikicommons
16 / 51#36. Nebraska
Affected index: 26.41
Federal employees: 16,915
FEMA // Wikicommons
17 / 51#35. Louisiana
Affected index: 26.74
Federal employees: 31,001
Sgt. Katie Eggers // Wisconsin National Guard
18 / 51#34. Wisconsin
Affected index: 26.78
Federal employees: 29,012
Famartin // Wikicommons
19 / 51#33. Nevada
Affected index: 27.01
Federal employees: 19,158
Pete Souza // Official White House Photo
20 / 51#32. New Jersey
Affected index: 27.38
Federal employees: 49,200
STATELIB // Wikicommons
21 / 51#31. Connecticut
Affected index: 27.62
Federal employees: 18,048
MaxPixel
22 / 51#30. New York
Affected index: 27.66
Federal employees: 115,407
Daniel Schwen // Wikicommons
23 / 51#29. Missouri
Affected index: 28.05
Federal employees: 54,542
Daderot // Wikicommons
24 / 51#28. Kentucky
Affected index: 28.10
Federal employees: 36,598
Robpinion // Wikicommons
25 / 51#27. Pennsylvania
Affected index: 30.53
Federal employees: 97,125
Bureau of Land Management // Flickr
26 / 51#26. Oregon
Affected index: 30.58
Federal employees: 29,028
Ken L. // Flickr
27 / 51#25. Arkansas
Affected index: 30.86
Federal employees: 19,995
Bureau of Land Management // Wikicommons
28 / 51#24. Wyoming
Affected index: 31.06
Federal employees: 8,027
FEMA // Wikicommons
29 / 51#23. Washington
Affected index: 31.57
Federal employees: 75,306
L. D. Andrew // Wikicommons
30 / 51#22. Georgia
Affected index: 31.74
Federal employees: 100,855
JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD // Wikicommons
31 / 51#21. South Dakota
Affected index: 32.04
Federal employees: 11,444
Bureau of Land Management // Wikicommons
32 / 51#20. Utah
Affected index: 32.72
Federal employees: 36,037
Bureau of Land Management
33 / 51#19. Idaho
Affected index: 32.74
Federal employees: 13,805
Todd Maki // U.S. Air Force
34 / 51#18. Massachusetts
Affected index: 33.74
Federal employees: 46,138
U.S. Navy // Wikicommons
35 / 51#17. Arizona
Affected index: 33.84
Federal employees: 56,344
FEMA // Wikicommons
36 / 51#16. Texas
Affected index: 36.85
Federal employees: 198,851
Kenenth C. Zirkel // Wikicommons
37 / 51#15. Maine
Affected index: 37.37
Federal employees: 15,396
West Virginia National Guard // Wikicommons
38 / 51#14. West Virginia
Affected index: 38.22
Federal employees: 23,695
Chuck Kelly // Wikicommons
39 / 51#13. Mississippi
Affected index: 38.54
Federal employees: 25,332
FEMA // Wikicommons
40 / 51#12. Rhode Island
Affected index: 39.92
Federal employees: 10,961
U.S. Department of Defense // Wikicommons
41 / 51#11. Colorado
Affected index: 41.80
Federal employees: 53,974
Wikicommons
42 / 51#10. Alabama
Affected index: 42.33
Federal employees: 53,066
FEMA // Wikicommons
43 / 51#9. California
Affected index: 44.37
Federal employees: 248,809
Kelly White // U.S. Air Force
44 / 51#8. Oklahoma
Affected index: 45.65
Federal employees: 48,009
Senior Master Sgt. Eric Peterson // U.S. Air National Guard photo
45 / 51#7. Montana
Affected index: 47.96
Federal employees: 13,932
Ken L. // Flickr
46 / 51#6. New Mexico
Affected index: 48.87
Federal employees: 29,426
U.S. Navy // Wikicommons
47 / 51#5. Hawaii
Affected index: 51.86
Federal employees: 33,271
U.S. Coast Guard // Wikicommons
48 / 51#4. Alaska
Affected index: 58.29
Federal employees: 15,401
Patrick Bloodgood // U.S. Army photo
49 / 51#3. Virginia
Affected index: 67.67
Federal employees: 177,527
Bestbudbrian // Wikicommons
50 / 51#2. Maryland
Affected index: 70.41
Federal employees: 146,540
AgnosticPreachersKid // Wikicommons
51 / 51#1. District of Columbia
Affected index: 70.42
Federal employees: 198,618
