Which states vaccinate the most? Northeast tops new rankings

by Filip Timotija - 09/11/23 4:20 PM ET

Four of the five states that vaccinate the most are in the Northeast.

That’s according to personal finance website WalletHub’s report released Monday analyzing all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 metrics.

Massachusetts topped the list, with Rhode Island close behind. Iowa, Vermont and Connecticut round up the top five.

The report found that Massachusetts has the highest influenza vaccination coverage for children at least 6 months old in the country. The Bay State’s rate is more than two times higher than the state with the lowest vaccination rate in the category, Wyoming.

Rhode Island leads the way in two categories — the highest share of children aged 13-17 with up-to-date HPV vaccination, and the highest rate of adults with flu shots. Mississippi fared the worst in both metrics.

The report also found that Mississippi placed on the bottom in two other categories — share of teenagers with the meningitis ACWY vaccine and adults over the age of 60 with a Zoster vaccine. South Dakota topped both metrics, with a rate twice that of the Magnolia State.

Minnesota had the highest share of adults with the tetanus vaccination and the highest share of children (aged between 19 months to 35 months) who are living in poverty and have received the combined 7-vaccine series.

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella for kindergarteners has dropped to 93 percent, 2 points lower than the healthy target rate of 95 percent.

WalletHub came up with the report by comparing the 50 states and the District of Columbia and how each of them fared across three metrics — adult and elderly vaccination rates, children and teenagers immunization rates and factors influencing immunization disparities. These were evaluated through 16 weighted metrics to determine the rankings.

1. Massachusetts
2. Rhode Island
3. Iowa
4. Vermont
5. Connecticut
6. Washington
7. North Dakota
8. Wisconsin
9. New Hampshire
10. Colorado
11. Maine
12. Maryland
13. Pennsylvania
14. North Carolina
15. Minnesota
16. Virginia
17. Oregon
18. Nebraska
19. South Dakota
20. Utah
21. District of Columbia
22. Kansas
23. Michigan
24. New Mexico
25. Delaware
26. Illinois
27. California
28. Missouri
29. Ohio
30. Montana
31. Arkansas
32. Kentucky
33. Tennessee
34. Indiana
35. Idaho
36. New York
37. South Carolina
38. Florida
39. Hawaii
40. New Jersey
41. Louisiana
42. West Virginia
43. Alabama
44. Nevada
45. Texas
46. Oklahoma
47. Wyoming
48. Georgia
49. Arizona
50. Alaska
51. Mississippi