With the second wave of coronavirus affecting the nation and the number of cases rising, the CDC recommended people avoid unnecessary travel during the holidays to help stop the virus's spread. AdvisorSmith analyzed which U.S. counties and states had the most people who traveled over 100 miles during the week of Christmas using anonymized mobile device data. From their research, they discovered that:
- Residents of Wyoming, South Dakota, New Mexico, Iowa, and North Dakota took the most trips over 100 miles over Christmas. In contrast, residents of Hawaii, DC, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island traveled the least.
- Nationwide, Americans took an average of 36 long-distance trips per 1,000 people during Christmas week.
- Residents of small counties with populations between 10,000 and 25,000 took the most long-distance trips per capita. The average number of trips in small counties was almost double the nationwide average.