Government Shutdown Affects States Differently

With the U.S. government experiencing its 23rd funding lapse since 1976 – and its 11th actual shutdown –the personal-finance company WalletHub released its report on the States Most & Least Affected by the 2025 Government Shutdown to add some hard data to all the rhetoric.

"The latest government shutdown makes life stressful for people across the U.S., but places like D.C. and Hawaii, where a high percentage of residents work directly for the government or have government contracts, are getting hit the hardest," said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst. "States with a lot of residents who receive SNAP benefits, such as New Mexico, also could be in a dire situation if money for this vital program runs out before the gridlock ends. Plus, states with real-estate dependent economies are suffering from federal delays in mortgage processing, and states with a lot of national parks may hurt their tourism and revenue by not being able to offer certain park services."

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of five key metrics, ranging from each state's share of federal jobs to federal contract dollars per capita to the share of families receiving food stamps.

Most affected

1. District of Columbia

2. Hawaii

3. New Mexico

4. Alaska

5. Maryland

6. Virginia

7. West Virginia

8. Alabama

9. Oklahoma

10. Arizona

Least affected

42. Arkansas

43. North Dakota

44. Kansas

45. New Jersey

46. Wisconsin

47. New Hampshire

48. Nebraska

49. Indiana

50. Iowa

51. Minnesota

Key stats include:

• Red states are less affected by the government shutdown than blue states, ranking 26.97 and 24.50, respectively, on average. (Lower rank = greater impact).
• New Mexico has the highest share of families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, 20.33%t. That's 4.1 times higher than in Wyoming, the state with the lowest at 4.9%.
• Wisconsin has the lowest share of federal jobs, at 1.07%. The average state has 2.4 times more federal jobs, at 2.62%.