The Best and Worst States to Work in America – during COVID-19

When COVID-19 delivered a shattering blow to the economy in 2020, it put millions of working families at risk of illness, homelessness, and hunger. The federal government response was slow and halting. In the face of great and urgent need, many states took action to shore up safety nets and catch working families at risk of falling.

This index ranks how states and territories are supporting residents during this tumultuous time. Find out more in our report.

Overall score: How states are helping working families

The index has three policy areas: worker protections, healthcare, and unemployment. This map illustrates the combined score. The index ranks all 50 states, plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.

Table of state rankings | Methodology | Report

State scorecards

Review full information on how each state scores on the full range of labor policies.

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The Three Policy Areas: Worker Protections, Healthcare, Unemployment

Select a policy area:

The Index: How the states rank overall and by policy area

The index is based on three areas, which each comprise a different amount of the overall score: worker protections (45%), healthcare (20%), and unemployment support (35%).

Each state / territory earns a score from 0-100 for each area, which are totaled following the above formula to create the total score. No state or territory scores above 80 overall, though one state scored above 90 in worker protections.

Number of states to show

State Rankings, sorted by Worker protections (descending)

3	California	72.03	91.67	70.00	47.94
4	Massachusetts	71.66	83.33	70.00	57.59
1	Washington	76.41	83.33	66.25	73.33
6	New York	63.91	79.17	56.25	48.67
2	New Jersey	72.17	79.17	70.00	64.42
7	District of Columbia	62.99	75.00	63.75	47.10
8	Rhode Island	61.67	68.75	55.00	56.38
5	Connecticut	64.04	66.67	58.75	63.68
12	Maryland	55.45	64.58	55.00	43.98
11	Illinois	58.47	64.58	85.00	35.46
9	Vermont	60.27	60.42	70.00	54.52
13	Michigan	55.31	58.33	62.50	47.30
10	Oregon	58.53	58.33	58.75	58.65
21	Puerto Rico	46.35	56.25	66.25	22.26
18	Colorado	50.77	54.17	55.00	43.99
16	Maine	51.86	54.17	55.00	47.09
14	New Mexico	52.60	54.17	71.25	39.92
19	Pennsylvania	50.09	52.08	40.00	53.29
17	Minnesota	51.03	52.08	55.00	47.41
22	Arizona	46.22	50.00	55.00	36.34
15	Delaware	52.43	47.92	62.50	52.49
41	Florida	32.72	45.83	26.25	19.57
28	Nevada	40.97	45.83	40.00	35.27
24	Virginia	43.29	45.83	55.00	33.32
38	North Carolina	35.99	41.67	43.75	24.27
26	Louisiana	42.41	41.67	52.50	37.61
23	Hawaii	43.33	41.67	36.25	49.52
33	Kansas	38.05	35.42	40.00	40.32
30	Nebraska	39.86	35.42	55.00	36.91
27	Alaska	41.46	35.42	66.25	35.06
32	Texas	38.14	33.33	40.00	43.25
39	Wisconsin	35.87	31.25	32.50	43.72
37	North Dakota	36.82	31.25	43.75	40.01
36	West Virginia	37.70	31.25	41.25	43.96
46	South Carolina	27.76	29.17	25.00	27.52
44	Tennessee	29.42	29.17	25.00	32.27
40	Indiana	33.84	29.17	40.00	36.34
31	Arkansas	39.12	29.17	71.25	33.55
20	Kentucky	47.53	29.17	70.00	58.31
35	Montana	37.98	27.08	48.75	45.82
29	New Hampshire	40.54	27.08	62.50	45.28
34	Iowa	38.01	25.00	55.00	45.03
25	Ohio	42.82	25.00	70.00	50.19
51	Missouri	22.08	22.92	25.00	19.35
45	Utah	29.36	20.83	62.50	21.38
43	Idaho	29.84	20.83	62.50	22.74
42	Oklahoma	31.71	18.75	47.50	39.34
52	Alabama	17.76	16.67	25.00	15.04
49	Wyoming	24.14	16.67	40.00	24.67
47	South Dakota	25.82	16.67	33.75	33.05
50	Georgia	23.08	12.50	28.75	33.45
48	Mississippi	25.48	12.50	43.75	31.73

Methodology

All data is based on policies and laws in effect between February 15, 2020 and July 1, 2020. Any executive order or state legislation passed after July 1 is not reflected in the index.

View full spreadsheets of the data.

The index is based on state policies and not federal relief efforts. This index does not capture the impact of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the CARES Act, or the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.

The index is based on three areas, which each comprise a different amount of the overall score: worker protections (45%), healthcare (20%), and unemployment support (35%).

Worker protections

The central question of this area is: Are states and territories taking proactive measures to protect workers and their communities amidst a pandemic?

Underlying workplace protections (15% of overall score)

Mandated paid sick leave
Mandated paid family leave
Protection against sexual harassment
Pregnancy accommodations

COVID-19-era workplace protections (15% of overall score)

Protection against forced return to work
Protection against retaliation
State funded childcare for essential workers
State mandated corporate immunity against COVID-19 cases

Community-level protections (15% of overall score)

State level loans and grants for small businesses
State Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements
State-defined essential occupations
Social protections in public (face mask requirements)

Healthcare

The central question of this area is: how are states and territories protecting the health of their residents during a pandemic, especially given the limitations of employment linked health insurance?

Healthcare expansions (15% of overall score)

Expanded Medicaid access
Expanded telehealth services
Premium payment grace period
Waived cost sharing for COVID-19 treatment
Expanded workers compensation due to COVID-19

Transparent case reporting (5% of overall score)

Disaggregated COVID-19 data by sex
Disaggregated COVID-19 data by race

Unemployment

This dimension of the index asks how states and territories pivoted to support workers unemployed due to COVID-19 as increasing numbers of peoples’ livelihoods were at stake. Included in the pillar are:

COVID-19-era unemployment supports (10% of overall score)

Relaxed eligibility criteria
Expanded unemployment (past CARES Act)
Expanded eligibility for undocumented workers

Underlying unemployment supports (15% of overall score)

Ratio of average unemployment benefits vs. cost of living*

COVID-19-era housing and food assistance (10% of overall score)

Moratorium on eviction
Moratorium on utilities shut off
Rent grace period
Increased food assistance

* This metric is intended to capture variation in the true coverage a state’s UI system provides versus what is considered a subsistence wage in that state. To calculate this, Oxfam recreated the UI calculation for each state at minimum wage using the Office of Unemployment Insurance’s 2019 resource, assuming the median worker experience, as well as pulling state data on maximum unemployment payments available. A ratio was then taken versus the MIT Living Wage Calculator’s figures for a minimum standard of subsistence for each state, with an approximated value calculated independently for Puerto Rico. These two ratios (minimum unemployment vs. cost of living and maximum unemployment vs. cost of living) were then normalized to a 0-to-1 scale, meaning the state with the best coverage of UI to a subsistence wage received a 1, whereas the worst coverage received a 0. These two normalized scores were then averaged to create each state or territory’s ratio of an average unemployment payment vs cost of living.

Overall	#52
Worker protections*	#48
Healthcare*	#49
Unemployment*	#52
Percent of cost of living covered by average unemployment**	11.50%