MIAMI, FL-Vaccinations represent one of the most significant advancements in modern medicine. They have greatly reduced the incidence of numerous diseases, such as polio, tetanus, measles, and chickenpox. Remarkably, smallpox has been completely eradicated, with the last natural case recorded in 1977. More recently, COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowered infection and death rates, helping society return to normalcy.
Vaccines work best when a large portion of the population is immunized, which is why public education about their benefits is crucial. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that vaccines save approximately 4 to 5 million lives each year. They are also extremely safe; as the WHO notes, vaccine-related deaths are so rare that assessing the statistical risk is challenging.
In order to see where people are most responsible about getting vaccines, WalletHub examined the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics. Our data set ranges from the rates of children, teens and adults vaccinated against various diseases to the share of people without health insurance.
Vaccination Rates by State
| Overall Rank* |
State | Total Score | Children & Teenagers Immunization Rates Rank | Adult & Elderly Vaccination Rates Rank | Immunization Uptake Disparities & Influencing Factors Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 81.95 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 71.26 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | Washington | 70.74 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | Connecticut | 68.67 | 2 | 24 | 2 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 68.17 | 3 | 15 | 3 |
| 6 | Vermont | 68.03 | 12 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Maine | 66.61 | 13 | 1 | 18 |
| 8 | North Dakota | 61.20 | 29 | 4 | 21 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 60.95 | 25 | 6 | 24 |
| 10 | Iowa | 60.88 | 8 | 12 | 19 |
| 11 | Minnesota | 60.62 | 32 | 5 | 14 |
| 12 | Oregon | 60.56 | 26 | 9 | 13 |
| 13 | Maryland | 60.47 | 15 | 13 | 7 |
| 14 | District of Columbia | 60.43 | 11 | 10 | 20 |
| 15 | Virginia | 57.72 | 19 | 11 | 28 |
| 16 | Colorado | 57.39 | 24 | 14 | 17 |
| 17 | Kansas | 55.14 | 23 | 17 | 10 |
| 18 | Delaware | 53.85 | 10 | 26 | 15 |
| 19 | New Mexico | 53.66 | 6 | 28 | 31 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 51.46 | 21 | 21 | 26 |
| 21 | Utah | 51.19 | 14 | 29 | 22 |
| 22 | South Dakota | 50.88 | 39 | 16 | 36 |
| 23 | West Virginia | 50.72 | 28 | 19 | 23 |
| 24 | Texas | 50.60 | 9 | 34 | 11 |
| 25 | Indiana | 50.01 | 18 | 31 | 16 |
| 26 | New York | 49.80 | 7 | 40 | 8 |
| 27 | Missouri | 49.47 | 36 | 25 | 9 |
| 28 | Hawaii | 49.24 | 16 | 27 | 42 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | 48.75 | 17 | 36 | 12 |
| 30 | Michigan | 48.16 | 34 | 22 | 30 |
| 31 | Ohio | 47.85 | 30 | 30 | 25 |
| 32 | Nebraska | 46.60 | 41 | 18 | 38 |
| 33 | Illinois | 45.96 | 22 | 35 | 29 |
| 34 | Louisiana | 45.09 | 20 | 38 | 27 |
| 35 | California | 42.21 | 44 | 23 | 48 |
| 36 | Idaho | 41.53 | 38 | 33 | 39 |
| 37 | Tennessee | 41.43 | 27 | 42 | 32 |
| 38 | Montana | 41.43 | 49 | 20 | 41 |
| 39 | South Carolina | 40.05 | 33 | 41 | 43 |
| 40 | New Jersey | 38.69 | 31 | 45 | 37 |
| 41 | Arkansas | 37.31 | 35 | 43 | 47 |
| 42 | Alaska | 36.90 | 48 | 32 | 45 |
| 43 | Arizona | 36.41 | 37 | 47 | 34 |
| 44 | Wyoming | 35.65 | 46 | 39 | 35 |
| 45 | Florida | 34.05 | 40 | 49 | 33 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | 33.71 | 50 | 37 | 44 |
| 47 | Kentucky | 32.96 | 45 | 46 | 40 |
| 48 | Georgia | 31.40 | 47 | 44 | 49 |
| 49 | Alabama | 29.94 | 43 | 48 | 51 |
| 50 | Nevada | 27.90 | 42 | 50 | 46 |
| 51 | Mississippi | 13.25 | 51 | 51 | 50 |
Notes: *No. 1 = Vaccinates the Most
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
Diana Polk/Communications Department WalletHub
