As Americans seek out safe states, Maine ranks high on two lists
Photo / PETER VAN ALLEN
Maine ranked high on lists of "safest states during COVID" and "best states to live," according to the personal finance website WalletHub.
With more Americans moving to places like Maine in the past year, the Pine Tree State ranks high in two national lists.
WalletHub, a Washington, D.C.-based personal finance website, this week ranked Maine No. 2 on a list of “Safest States During COVID-19,” trailing only Vermont.
On its “Best States to Live” list, Maine ranked No. 19, with New Jersey in the No. 1 spot.
For the “safest states” ranking, WalletHub looked at factors like the rates of vaccination, positive tests, hospitalization, deaths and virus transmission.
Other New England states also rank high. Connecticut is No. 3, while Massachusetts ranks No. 4, Rhode Island at No. 5 and New Hampshire at No. 10.
From the bottom, Idaho ranks last, at No. 51, while Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Florida make up the rest of the bottom five.
Rankings were based on data available through noon on June 23.
"Safety is also essential for getting the economy back on track, as the lower COVID-19 transmission and deaths are in a state, the more that state is able to eliminate restrictions on businesses,” WalletHub said in its report.
“While we’ve made significant progress so far, we’ll only be able to completely get back to life as normal once most of the population is fully vaccinated against coronavirus. The good news is that the U.S. is picking up speed with vaccination, as around 45% of the population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of June 23.”
Maine ranks No. 19 “Best Places to Live” list
WalletHub reported that some 15 million people moved last year, many of them influenced by COVID-19 — and, of course, Maine has seen that with its skyrocketing housing prices (now at $305,000 for the median sale price) and shortage of housing inventory.
For its 2021 “Best States to Live in” list, WalletHub says it looked at 52 key indicators of liveability, including housing costs, income growth, education rate and quality of hospitals.
Maine got the nation’s best rating for fewest violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 1.15, versus the nation’s worst, Alaska, which had 8.67 per 1,000 residents.
Other New England counterparts also did well. Vermont has the highest quality of the public hospitals system, with New Jersey ranking at the bottom. New Hampshire has the lowest share of residents in poverty, while Mississippi has the highest.
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