Government shutdown hitting Virginia harder than most other states, study finds

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The government shutdown is hitting Virginia harder than it is most other states, per a new study, which ranked the Commonwealth among the top 10 most vulnerable states to this ongoing federal freeze.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 15, the latest government shutdown has officially entered its third week, with federal funding on hold due to failed budget discussions. Hundreds of thousands of government employees have either been furloughed or are working without pay.

Though the shutdown's impacts certainly can be felt throughout America, WalletHub took a deeper look to determine which states are struggling the most.

All 50 states and Washington, D.C. were rated across five key metrics. This included the state's share of federal jobs, its federal contract dollars per capita, its percentage of families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, its access to national parks and the percentage of its gross state product that comes from real estate. Those metrics were then weighed and tabulated to produce a score out of 100.

Richmond airport refuses to show TSA video blaming Democrats for government shutdown

Virginia landed in 6th place with a score of 59.06. The Commonwealth's vulnerability to the government shutdown can be credited, at least in part, to it having the 5th-highest share of federal jobs and the 2nd-highest share of federal contract dollars per capita, per WalletHub.

Here's the ten U.S. states that are most impacted by the government shutdown:

1. Washington. D.C. -- 76.33
2. Hawaii -- 71.63
3. New Mexico -- 71.31
4. Alaska -- 70.32
5. Maryland -- 67.94
6. Virginia -- 59.06
7. West Virginia -- 51.52
8. Alabama -- 45.49
9. Oklahoma -- 40.87
10. Arizona -- 39.98

According to WalletHub, the states least impacted by the government shutdown include Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota, with Minnesota's score of 12.77 putting it in 51st place.

Virginia’s ICE detention centers continue to break detainee records

To check out the full report, click here.