NH Hit Hard By Social Distancing

LendingTree, a national online loan marketplace, released its study on the states hit hardest by social distancing and NH is near the top, ranking #3 nationwide.

With COVID-19 spreading and experts urging Americans to practice social distancing, the study found that residents of Western states and New England tend to be more social than elsewhere in the country and may be having a difficult time with social distancing.    

 Key findings: 

• Rhode Island is the most social state in America and tops the list of places hit hardest by social distancing. Rhode Islanders spend 205 minutes per day in social situations, according to our analysis of Time Use data. In particular, they spend a lot of time caring for and helping non-household members, compared with other states.
• Idaho is the runner-up in terms of socialization. Residents in this state spent more time in religious and volunteering activities compared with other states. In total, we estimate a total of 159 minutes per day in social situations for Idaho residents.
• New Hampshire came in third with 153 minutes of potential non-work social time per day. In terms of pure socializing for fun, NH residents rack up an impressive 68 minutes per day.

Here are the top 10 states hit hardest by social distancing:

1. Rhode Island
2. Idaho
3. New Hampshire
4. Wyoming
5. Montana
6. Utah
7. Vermont
8. Michigan
9. Hawaii
10. South Dakota

At the bottom of the list are Washington, D.C. (50th), Alaska (49th) and New Mexico (48th). Washington D.C., in particular, stood out with just 88 minutes of non-work social time per day. Residents of the nation's capital are also known to work long hours, so that may be where residents are getting their social time in.

To view the full report, visit lendingtree.com/personal/social-distancing-study

Methodology: To find the most social states in America, LendingTree researchers gathered data for seven metrics from the 2018 American Time Use survey. Specifically, LendingTree looked at time spent on phone calls, mail and email; socializing and communicating; sports exercise and recreation; religious and spiritual activities; volunteering; caring for and helping household members and caring for and helping non-household members. LendingTree then added up the average amount of time spent doing each activity per day. This gave the average amount of time a person in each state spent in social situations per day. LendingTree ranked the states from highest to lowest based on this figure.