July is a great time to reflect on what independence means to Americans. The hard-earned freedom that Americans celebrate also reflects the ability of the nation to be self-reliant.
WalletHub, the personal finance website, recently explained that alarming inflation levels have affected people across the country and there is a real struggle in maintaining financial independence.
“Some have become at least temporarily more dependent on support from the federal government,” WalletHub explained.
With the Fourth of July holiday and these concerns in mind, a study was conducted by the personal finance website in order to determine where Americans are the most self-reliant.
The 50 states were compared based on five sources of dependency. The sources were the government, job market, international trade, consumer finances and personal vices.
Through the research, it was discovered that Utah ranked on top, making the Beehive State 2023’s most independent. Utah was followed by Colorado and Florida in second and third place. In contrast, Mississippi and Louisiana were found to be the least independent states.
Utah was found often in the top five ranking of the many factors that were analyzed. They included households with emergency funds, median household income, federally-dependent states, households receiving public assistance and lowest percentage of adult binge-drinkers.