Maine Among States Most Severely Hit by Government Shutdown

While the ongoing government shutdown—as well as previous shutdowns—affects all states, Maine is among the most severely impacted.

Since this latest shutdown began on October 1st, 2025, nearly 900,000 federal employees have been furloughed, and about 700,000 are working without pay, with the shutdown creating new uncertainty over back pay and even raising the possibility of permanent layoffs.

👇 KEEP READING: LOOK: Best public colleges in Maine 👇

WalletHub’s ‘2025 Government Shutdown Report: Most & Least Affected States’ measured how much each state relies on the federal government for jobs and benefits.

To rank the impact, WalletHub scored states and Washington, D.C., across five key metrics on a 100-point scale, then averaged the results to show which areas are hit hardest and which are least affected by the shutdown.

Read More: Janet Mills Pledges Just One Senate Term if Elected

WalletHub used five key metrics, from federal employment to reliance on government services, to measure how each state would be affected by the shutdown.

Maine ranked 11th overall, making it one of the most impacted states in the country, and the only New England state in the top 15, with Rhode Island next at 16th.

Washington D.C. ranks as the most affected by the government shutdown, followed by Hawaii at #2, while Minnesota comes in as the least affected state.

On average, blue states are feeling the impact more than red states, with an average rank of 24.50 compared to 26.97.

Get our free mobile app

And there you have it! According to this report, Maine ranks as the 11th most affected state in the country by the current government shutdown.

What are your thoughts on this report and its findings? We’d love to hear from you! Feel free to join the conversation by messaging us on the app.

Read More: These Are Maine's 10 Most Popular Slang Words in 2025