Coronavirus hits tourist states hardest

The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic just ahead of spring break season and its imminent threat to summer travel, put state economies dependent on tourist dollars front and center. The hospitality-heavy economies of Vermont, Florida and Hawaii were most vulnerable to "shelter-in-place" policies shown in data published by WalletHub. Alternatively, Delaware, Nebraska and Iowa were the states least exposed to the virus' economic fallout.

The personal finance website ranked the 50 states plus the District of Columbia across the GDP-generating industries most at risk during the current downturn. The rankings found that those that created a large portion of income from hospitality, entertainment and retail the most at risk. The rankings also included mining, and oil and gas GDP rankings, which had a relatively lesser impact on state GDP than tourist-related industries.

A look at the share of state employment by high-risk industries shows workers in Florida, Colorado and Utah were most impacted by the pandemic. Florida's workforce depends more on jobs in hospitality, entertainment and recreation, as well as real estate rentals, compared to most states. Workers in Colorado and Utah were impacted by both the decline in tourism. Both employed a significant number of people in recreation and entertainment, as well as the mining and energy industries.

For more information: WalletHub.