That’s according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s StateHealthFacts.org. The Bay State’s 10th-place showing is mainly due to an increase in Food Stamp program participation from October 2007 to October 2008 (up 17.5 percent, vs. a national increase of 14.2 percent).

We rank 18th in the increase of the employment rate from December 2007 to December 2008 (up 2.6 points vs. 2.3 points nationally) and 20th in the foreclosure rate during January 2009 (one out of every 810 housing units, vs. one out of every 466 units nationwide).

Overall, the most distressed states are Nevada (one in every 76 homes foreclosed in just one month!), Florida (a 26 percent jump in Food Stamp participation), and Idaho. The states doing the best to weather the economic storm are West Virginia, Nebraska, and Wyoming.