Man feeling stressed out
, , ,

Study reveals most, least stressed states in US

April 7, 2017
by StudyFinds

WASHINGTON — Having high levels of stress is known to take a toll on the brain and the body, leading people to sleep less, feel worse, and struggle on the job. But does where you live factor in to the level of stress you feel? The free credit score website WalletHub.com released its list of the Most and Least Stressed States, giving Americans a glimpse at how their home address could be affecting them.

The study found that Alabama was the most-stressed state in the country, followed by Louisiana and Mississippi. In fact, eight states from the South made the top 10 for most-stressed states.

Minnesota was the least-stressed state, followed by North Dakota and Iowa.

Man feeling stressed out
Stress seems to be prevalent in America’s southern states, according to WalletHub’s annual study.

The list was compiled by expert analysts who evaluated all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in four areas of potential stressors: Work-Related Stress; Money-Related Stress; Family-Related Stress; Health- & Safety-Related Stress.

Each category was graded by various weighted metrics — 33 in total — that accounted for 25 points per category.

For example, Work-related Stress metrics included how many average hours residents work per week, their average commute time, their job security, and the state’s unemployment weight.

Money-related Stress included median income, median credit score, and housing affordability. Family-related Stress included divorce rate and cost of childcare. Health- & Safety-related Stress included adults diagnosed with depression, suicide rate, and crime rate.

Total scores were then calculated for each state and ranked in comparison to one another.

WalletHub’s list of Most & Least Stressed States:

Overall Rank State Total Score ‘Work-Related Stress’ Rank ‘Money-Related Stress’ Rank ‘Family-Related Stress’ Rank ‘Health- & Safety-Related Stress’ Rank
1 Alabama 56.91 5 2 5 6
2 Louisiana 56.22 2 9 10 5
3 Mississippi 55.62 18 1 4 7
4 West Virginia 55.43 4 11 24 1
5 Kentucky 54.39 7 7 16 4
6 New Mexico 53.76 3 8 7 19
7 Nevada 52.74 6 20 2 21
8 Georgia 52.10 9 13 3 14
9 Tennessee 51.93 26 5 18 8
10 Arkansas 51.17 44 3 22 2
11 South Carolina 50.46 25 12 13 12
12 Alaska 49.67 1 42 27 13
13 Florida 49.60 16 16 6 22
14 Arizona 48.17 19 18 11 25
15 Oklahoma 47.63 37 28 14 3
16 North Carolina 47.26 14 22 15 30
17 Ohio 45.69 32 26 20 15
18 District of Columbia 45.64 35 14 1 50
19 Indiana 45.64 42 27 19 10
20 Missouri 45.33 38 24 23 11
21 Oregon 45.28 36 4 45 16
22 Michigan 45.19 33 30 21 9
23 California 45.08 10 10 41 42
24 Texas 45.07 17 39 8 20
25 New York 45.06 21 17 33 27
26 Rhode Island 44.85 30 23 31 18
27 Maine 44.09 28 19 46 17
28 Pennsylvania 43.63 22 31 25 24
29 Delaware 42.59 29 37 12 32
30 Virginia 42.14 8 48 17 39
31 Idaho 42.02 46 21 37 26
32 Illinois 41.89 11 35 32 37
33 Maryland 41.55 20 41 9 44
34 Washington 41.53 24 32 34 28
35 Montana 41.33 49 15 44 23
36 Hawaii 40.99 31 6 47 49
37 Massachusetts 40.42 27 34 28 41
38 Wyoming 39.82 13 51 30 29
39 Connecticut 39.52 15 43 38 33
40 Kansas 39.45 23 38 35 40
41 New Jersey 39.32 12 45 39 36
42 Wisconsin 38.41 41 36 36 34
43 Colorado 37.28 47 33 26 45
44 Vermont 36.27 39 25 50 47
45 New Hampshire 35.83 48 47 29 35
46 Nebraska 35.51 40 40 43 43
47 Utah 34.71 50 44 42 31
48 South Dakota 34.41 51 29 49 48
49 Iowa 33.66 45 46 40 46
50 North Dakota 33.16 43 49 51 38
51 Minnesota 31.07 34 50 48 51

WalletHub’s study included a panel of experts who answered questions on how to help Americans relieve financial stress and offered ways for parents especially to bring more calm into the household.

To read the study, click here.

Tags: ,

Comments

  2. I chose to move to Alabama 15 years ago as a relief from living in Cali, (both northern and southern) Chicago (3 years) and South Jersey (4 years). Please keep telling others this is the worst place to live … 😉

    1. Goes for everywhere South of the M/D line. It sux down here. Nothin’ but rednecks, diesel trucks, and fat women. We have horrible weather, no warm water to enjoy, and we live crammed into tiny houses stacked up on top of each other without any wide open spaces. Don’t even fly here for winter vacation; it’s horrible.

  3. Mostly bogus, as the study does not account for cultural differences and the psychology at work in peoples lives. The list would be closer to reality if you split it in the middle, inverted each half, then rejoined it.

  5. And how exactly did they conclude, for example, that higher income actually equates to less stress? Whoever put this garbage together clearly never heard the words “scientific” and “method” in the same sentence.

  7. Not buying it. The study should say “perceived” stress. Until you actually talk to somebody and determine how stressed they truly are, there is no accurate measurement. Everybody handles situations differently. I call bunk on this study.

  8. I think the states that are the most stress have the most black populations? Same with those with the most whites seem to have the less? Could be wrong but seems that ties in here. Also those southern states have more heat (humidity) in summer. The study should have looked into that.

  9. This whole thing makes no sense.

    First of all, how is Alabama the most stressed state when its 4 contributing scores are all single digits? Does that mean the closer a score is to 0, the worse it is, and if so, since when did that become a viable rating system? What is the sample set on this? What is the cap – 50 points, 60 points, 100; it’s never explained, and is completely arbitrary as the lowest score is in the 30s, and highest in the 50s. It’s idiotic, to say the least. Furthermore, Alabama has very little industry, and a high welfare rate – so what are people stressing about other then black crime (however, with Alabama being an open carry state, even that shouldn’t be a huge factor, similar to Arizona)?

    Let’s just be honest here – the only real correlation between misery and happiness seems to be either a large or small black population. The bigger the black population, the more miserable people seem, which is do to black crime and increased welfare, and the added threat of domestic terrorism. Of course, all of that is very non-PC, so we’ll just skip it.

    Then we go to the other end of the spectrum – Minnesota. Those numbers make no sense – all high double digits, but a lower overall score – what?

    What idiot wrote this?

  10. Worked in Louisiana with the Cajuns who are the least stressed people on this planet. Laissez le bon ton roulet!

      2. On the contrary….I live in Florida…..we’ve been invaded by these inbred rednecks because, once again, there’s nothing to do in Bama except drink, make babies and watch football…..so they come down here to drink and make babies on the beach.

      3. Sorry to inform you, but the Yankee firm conducting this ridiculous survey has DC on the list. The surveyors must have gone to Harvard Law school with ODumbo…. after all he thinks the US has 57 states.

      4. I’ll give you credit, voting right is the one thing Bammers do well. #MAGA

  13. Pingback: STUDY: Alabama, Louisiana Most-Stressed States… – Grejeen News

  14. Stupid study. Narrow it down to cities and see what ranks 1…Los Angeles! Sit in traffic for most of your life with idiot drivers.

  15. Wow who would have thunk it. The typical red states again at the top of the list for a negative situation. I know you in bred morons have all the answers. The problems your answers are all wrong. America we should all follow the GOP Mantra lets all hold hands and race to the bottom.

      1. I know you have all the answers but why are all the answers wrong. Why do the red states in every single study. Not one now two but every study lag the entire nation in every single category. I know jebus and guns. You rubes are just so easy manipulate just say the darkies guns and jebus and you all march off a cliff. You actually revel in your ignorance.

  16. Let me get this straight: a panel of “experts” evaluated stress levels based on metrics they collected, and subjectively assigned stress scores to each state? Looking at the raw data collection, I find it is predominantly weighted by metrics from urban areas and fails to take into account the suburbs and rural areas. Well, of course. If you limit the data collection to blighted inner cities, you will have find high levels of stress. Living in Alabama, my experience is that life in the suburbs and rural areas is great. Believe what you will.

  17. Alabama is stressful. If you’re younger and you work for a living, you’re dogged every which way by the geriatrics and “disabled” folk clogging up everything from checkout lines to the roadways.

  18. Calling BS on this “study” — Louisiana has a lower suicide rate than both North Dakota and Iowa. North Dakota is considered one of the least stressful states according to this study….Has one of the highest suicide rates in the country! – Someone explain that?

  19. Articles like this are just bait for people that want to make Everything about politics and want to smear and stereotype other regions of the country.

  20. What the m0r0ns who did the study don’t understand is there are two kinds of stress: distress and eustress. Distress may be harmful; eustress is beneficial. What the goons running the study did wrong was to not differentiate between the two. Eustress … look it up.

Comments are closed.