April 3 2020
Where? Two states - New York and New Jersey contribute 1/2 of the cases and deaths from COVID-19.
Why? The answer seems to be obvious - NYC and New Jersey represent one large metropolitan area and a major travel hub. There are several inconsistencies, although:
Put together, these states have population of 28 million people, which is 8.5% of the total US population. Texas, the second largest state, has population of 28 million people and California - the largest state - has 40 million people.
NYC/NJ registered 13 million of international arrivals in 2018 vs. Los Angeles’s 6.5 million vs. Texas > 10 million visitors.
The number of cases and deaths is disproportional to the population and international arrivals:
California registered 11,986 cases and 268 deaths;
Texas registered 5,658 cases and 976 deaths;
New York and New Jersey combined registered >131,000 cases and almost 4,000 deaths;
What are the differences between these states?
Population density:
California - 246 per sq. mile # 11 in the nation
Los Angeles - 8,484 people per sq. mile
New York - 417 per sq. mile #7 in the nation
New York City - 28,211 per sq. mile #1 in the nation
New Jersey - 1,210 per sq. mile #1 in the nation, although behind of the District of Columbia’s 10,588 per sq. mile
Jersey City - 11.648 per sq. mile
Newark - 11,649 per sq. mile
Texas - 101 per sq. mile #26 in the nation
Houston - 3,842 people per sq. mile #4 in the nation
Income per person:
California - $75,277
Los Angeles - $35,089
New Jersey - $81,740
New York - $67,844
New York City - $39,589
Texas - $60,629
Percent of foreign born population;
California - 26.9% #1 in the nation
Los Angeles - 37.7%
New Jersey - 22.8% #2 in the nation
New York - 22.8% #3 in the nation
New York City - 37.6%
Texas - 17.2% #8 in the nation
Houston 30.3%
Percent of illegal immigrants;
California >2 million
New Jersey >526,000
New York >650,000
Texas >1.6 million
Conclusion: population density is the only indicator which differs significantly between New York/New Jersey and the rest of the country!
