Kentucky is winning one coronavirus battle primarily because of its previous habits
Because Kentuckians spend less time and money on social activities it’s easier for the state’s residents to achieve social distance during the coronavirus outbreak, a new study claims.
Kentucky is the fourth-easiest state in which to properly social distance, according to a study by the personal finance website WalletHub. The analysis determined that Kentucky’s “social environment” — as defined by participation in groups or volunteering, Gallup’s well-being index and more — ranks 48th among all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. In this case, landing at the bottom of the rankings is good.
The organization also determined that Kentucky’s time spent on social activities ranked 38th in the nation, and Kentucky’s money spent on social activities ranked 47th.
The Bluegrass state ranked in the bottom third nationwide in several metrics in the study.
Share of residents who participate in local groups or organizations (36th)
Share of population that is physically active (50th)
Share of consumer expenditures related to social activities (41st)
Travel and tourism consumer spending per capita (43rd)
Kentucky ranked right around average – 26th – in time spent at home, according to the study.
The study used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Gallup, Unacast, Corporation for National and Community Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Council for Community & Economic Research and the U.S. Travel Association.
It used three main categories to determine difficulty of social distancing in each state (social environment, time spent on social activities and money spent on social activities). It used 13 metrics within those three categories and weighted each one differently to determine each state’s score. Kentucky got credit for curtailing nonessential trips as directed during the outbreak, but many measures took into account pre-coronavirus behavior.
The most difficult state to social distance in, according to the study, is Utah. Utah ranked first in social environment, second in time spent on social activities and 12th in money spent on social activities. Other states where social distancing is most difficult: New Hampshire, Montana, Colorado, Alaska, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Virginia, Idaho and South Dakota.
Alabama came in as the easiest state to social distance in. It ranked 50th in social environment, 36th in time spent on social activities and 48th in money spent on social activities. Also joining Kentucky among the easiest were Mississippi, West Virginia and Rhode Island.
Tennessee, a state that Kentucky has often been compared to when analyzing differences in coronavirus response, ranked right in the middle at 25th.
The ease of social distancing in the study did not necessarily show a direct correlation to the number of COVID-19 cases.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 9:35 AM.