The personal finance site used updated information to evaluate all 50 states plus the District of Columbia on their COVID-19 death rate, hospitalization rate, the rate of positive tests and 10 other metrics to determine where Americans’ health is recovering or worsening from the pandemic.

States were ranked according to their scores across the 13 metrics in seven categories, which emphasize latest developments rather than hardest-hit states during the pandemic: death rate this week, other death rate metrics, positive COVID-19 testing rate this week, other positive COVID-19 testing rate metrics, transmission number, hospitalization rate and influenza activity level. The death rate this week and positive COVID-19 testing rate this week categories refer to July 26-Aug. 1, per WalletHub.

Data from government agencies and third-party institutions such as the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The COVID Tracking Project and COVID19-projections.com were used in the ranking.

Despite being home to New York City, the early epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic, New York scores in the top 10 in five of seven categories in the study.

“New York is ranked as having the biggest health improvement because the state’s COVID-19 death rate and hospitalization rate for the latest week were both among the lowest in the country,” Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement. “People with COVID-19 in New York have the lowest expected rates of transmission to other people, too.”

In the meantime, Mississippi, Florida, Idaho, Alabama and Nevada are the lowest-ranked states in the report. Eight of the 10 lowest-ranking states are in the South: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia and Louisiana. The exceptions are Idaho and Nevada.

“Mississippi has seen the smallest health improvement because it has the highest COVID-19 death rate and second highest hospitalization rate in the country for the latest week, along with the highest rate of people testing positive for the virus,” Gonzalez said.

States With Biggest Health Improvements During Coronavirus