As the fast-changing coronavirus contagion evolves, the pandemic’s economic effects are shifting. New Jersey and New York were the two hardest-hit state economies, according to the Bankrate Housing Hardship Index for June.
New Jersey and New York, early epicenters of COVID-19 deaths, supplant Nevada and Hawaii atop our rankings this month. Those tourism-dependent states ranked first and second on our index for April in May. For June, Nevada fell to third place, Hawaii to fifth.
Our metric sums mortgage delinquencies and unemployment to show which states are enduring the most extreme slowdowns during the pandemic. Massachusetts moved into the top five as it struggled with a spike in layoffs in June.
