- 23% The percentage of interactions between people in California when compared to their normal levels, meaning they are currently doing the best at social distancing.
- 5.34 The number of interactions per person in Alabama, higher than in any other state. Alabama ranks second to last in the social distancing rankings, with the interaction rate at 82.1% of their normal levels.
- 88% The percentage of interactions between people in South Dakota when compared to their normal levels, making it the worst ranked state for social distancing.
Which States Are Still Social Distancing?
Parts of the South and the Great Plains have seen human interaction levels that are getting closer to the pre-pandemic level of interactions. In the map below, the states were measured on their percentage of “normalcy”. The standard of normalcy was based on the average number of interactions in 2019. The states with low levels of human interactions in comparison to their normal amount of interactions are in green, while their counterparts are in red.
Methodology
In order to determine how states are recovering from the pandemic, TOP Data compared the 48 states across five metrics:
1. Current # of COVID-19 Cases Per Capita
2. Current # of COVID-19 Deaths Per Capita
3. Share of Fully Vaccinated Population
4. Social Distancing Rate
5. Stress Levels
Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Health Safety (100 points)
Current # of COVID-19 Cases Per Capita: Full Weight (20 Points)
Note: This metric represents the case rate to date per 100,000 people.
Current # of COVID-19 Deaths Per Capita: Full Weight (20 Points)
Note: This metric represents the case death to date per 100,000 people.
Share of Fully Vaccinated Population: Full Weight (20 Points)
Note: This metric represents the percentage of the total population that is fully vaccinated.
Social Distancing Rate: Full Weight (20 Points)
Note: This metric represents the ratio of the number of daily close interactions with members outside of their household in February 2022 vs pre-pandemic figures.
Stress Levels: Full Weight (20 Points)
Note: This metric measured the percentage of adults aged 18 and older who reported being highly stressed.
