During the course of April, the share of Americans who wore face masks while out in public surged from 17 percent at the start of the month to 63 percent by month’s end. Data from YouGov’s eight-week international COVID-19 tracker shows that among the various measures that Americans have taken to protect themselves from COVID-19, face mask adoption saw the largest uptick in April (+46 points).
Face masks have become one of the most overt, visible symbols of the pandemic but the data shows that not all Americans are using them at the same rate. A state-by-state analysis reveals some states are significantly more likely to adopt face masks than others.
Twelve states stand out along with Washington D.C., for how likely they are to be using face masks when compared with the overall rate of US adults who used them throughout April (43%). These include Hawaii (58%), New Jersey (56%), the District of Columbia (56%), New York (53%), California (52%), Rhode Island (52%), Colorado (49%), Maryland (49%), Connecticut (47%), Michigan (46%), Pennsylvania (46%), Massachusetts (46%), and Georgia (45%).
Search below to see the share of people in your state who wear face masks
Methodology: The survey is based on the interviews of 89,347 US adults aged 18 and over between March 26-April 29, 2020. All interviews were conducted online and the results have been weighed to be nationally representative. Please refer to the first chart for sample sizes for individual states. See results from the survey here.
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- A majority of Michiganders say lockdowns do not violate constitutional rights
Image: Getty
