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Fla. Ranks Fourth in U.S. in Economic Insecurity

Florida is among the most economically insecure states in the nation. A new study shows Florida ranking fourth behind three other Southern states in the number of residents experiencing sudden and dramatic income loss.

The study, out of Yale University, defines an economically insecure person as having lost at least a quarter of his income in a year, whether from lower pay or higher medical bills. Professor Jacob Hacker, who conducted the study, says, Florida’s high ranking is mainly because of its difficult recovery after the housing market crash. That, combined with a high minority population, made the state more insecure than Hacker had expected.

“Florida’s a more diverse state, and as a result it had a somewhat higher levels of insecurity than you might expect because of the fact that it has so many older Americans, who have generally stable income,” he says.

The study shows more than 1 in 5 Floridians are economically insecure. And, Hacker says, all 50 states ranked significantly less secure than they were 20 years ago.