Wisconsin Ranks As One Of The Least Loneliest States This Holiday
There are some lonely people out there this holiday season. There's no way around it, isolation is tough especially during the holidays. This year many people are not traveling and avoiding large gatherings due to COVID-19.
Click Cupid has gathered some statistics from different Data sources to come up with a list of the loneliest states across the country. They used criteria to compile the list such as state's unemployment rates, number of COVID-19 reported cases, the state's social distancing policies, percentage of people living alone, number of COVID deaths, travel quarantine orders, and finally percentage of immigrants.
The methodology behind the criteria chosen is explained further. Employment rates represent that it's hard to enjoy Christmas when you don't have a job. Their data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Census data is the source for "living alone " criteria. COVID cases and deaths is an obvious lonely statistic sourced from the Washington Post. Some states also have quarantine orders which would lead to less visitors or leaving to see family.
All of these statistics were put into a scale, and according to the results, Rhode Island is the loneliest state this holiday season, followed by New Mexico, California, New York, and Massachusetts. It's no surprise to see New York and California on this list as they have been hit perhaps the hardest by COVID-19.
Here in the Northland, Minnesota ranked 22 on the list of loneliest states. Wisconsin was the 4th LEAST loneliest state.
Thankfully we have the technology in this day in age to zoom, Facetime, or skype family members, so try to make the best out of it if you are feeling alone this holiday season. Silver lining: maybe you won't have to do so much traveling and bustling around on Christmas Day.