Study: Virginia No. 1 state affected by shutdown

Published October 11, 2013 by Jessica Sabbath

Virginia will be the state most affected by the federal government shutdown, according to a study done by Wallet Hub.

Alaska, Alabama, the District of Columbia and Maine followed Virginia on the list.

Wallet Hub ranked states’ rankings based on the following criteria: the number of federal workers, federal contracts, small business lending, real estate, number of elderly residents, student aid applications and veterans.

Virginia was ranked in the top five in three of the categories considered.

Virginia ranked fifth on the study’s list of federal employees per capita and second on the list of states with the most federal contracting per capita. The commonwealth also ranked second on the list of states with the most veterans per capita.

Wallet Hub is an online personal finance website.

Data used in the study came from the Department of Education, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Realtor.org, the Brookings Institute, FedsDataCenter.com and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.