States With The Fewest Covid-19 Restrictions – Iowa Moves Into Top 10

As the U.S. just hit the highest single day of new coronavirus cases reported and parts of Iowa are seeing new Covid-19 cases spike, where does Iowa stand compared to other states as far as fewest COVID-19 restrictions? And are fewer restrictions a good or bad thing?

To identify which states have the fewest coronavirus restrictions, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics. As you can see below, Iowa is ranked first in three of those categories, including "no requirement to wear a face mask in public", "re-opening of child-care programs", and we never had any "shelter in place" order. We're also in second place for "re-opening bars and restaurants". Those factors have lead to a jump from 11th to 7th overall, in the past two weeks.

Studying the table below, Iowa is 7th for fewest restrictions, and has a relatively high ranking for Covid-19 death rate at 26th. In other words, the fewer restrictions are coming at a cost. However, states like Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have more restrictions and still have a high Covid-19 death rate. On the other hand, states like West Virginia, Maine and Vermont have more restrictions and less deaths.

Check out the map below to see where other states are ranked:

Stay safe, wash your hands, social distance and consider wearing a mask, because this health crisis isn't going away anytime soon.