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The Most Stressed Cities In America

Are you stressed, do you think that where you live has a lot to do with it and find yourself wondering just how does where you live stack up to other places? Stress can come from a variety of things, like work pressure, family obligations, paying rent, driving, crime rates, pollution, inflation, relationships, and buying groceries. In todayu2019s society, we are literally surrounded by things that are stress-inducing.

Stress is pretty much inevitable, and everyone will experience some form of stress at one point or another. However, the last few years have battered the American psyche with a barrage of external stressors beyond our control that has elevated stress levels with the pandemic being followed by record-high rates of inflation and spiking levels of homicide rates. A recent study conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association revealed that 83% of Americans are feeling extra stress about inflation and 75% are stressed out about violence and crime. 

While stress can be hard to deal with, it isn’t necessarily always a bad thing because certain kinds of stress can have positive effects on one’s well-being in the right doses according to Psychology Today, “A little bit of stress, known as ‘acute stress,’ can be exciting—it keeps us active and alert.” When stress reaches an unmanageable level, however, it turns “chronic.” Chronic stress is what we want to avoid because that is when we can become vulnerable to damaging effects such as health problems and loss of productivity, workplace related stress alone is estimated to cost society over a staggering $300 billion annually. 

Civil liberty distress is a serious topic with the majority of American adults reporting feelings of uncertainty and concern for the future, with 70% thinking that the government does not care about them, 64% saying that they feel that their rights are under attack, 45% feel that they are not protected by the laws in America, 38% are considering moving to another country, and 40% agreed that the political environment in their state has made them consider moving to another state. 76% said that the future of this nation is a significant source of stress and 68% said that this is the lowest point in the nation’s history that they can remember. 83% are concerned with inflation, 69% are worried about the economy and 66% said that money is a significant source of stress. 

In another study to determine which cities are coping with stress better than others, WalletHub compared over 180 American cities across 39 key metrics running from average weekly work hours to the unemployment rate, to divorce and suicide rates. These findings revealed that the top five stressed-out cities in America are: Cleveland, Ohio which took the top spot, followed by Detroit, Michigan coming in second, Baltimore, Maryland placed third, Birmingham, Alabama landed in fourth, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rounds off the list of the top five in terms of the most stressed out American cities. 

Overall those living in Cleveland, Ohio are the most stressed in the entire nation which was the leader in terms of stress ranking first in financial stress, second in health and safety stress, and third in family stress. Cleveland also has the second-highest poverty rate, and the highest divorce rate, to add to this residents are getting the second-fewest amounts of sleep each night across the nation. 

Birmingham, AL is tied with Springfield, MO for having the highest crime rate, while Port St. Lucie, FL has the lowest. South Burlington, Vermont has the lowest unemployment rate but Stockton, California has a jobless rate that is more than 8 times higher. Portland, Maine has the lowest number of adults in fair to poor shape, but Huntington, West Virginia has the highest number of adults in poor health. In terms of sleep, those living in Detroit, MI sleep the least, followed by Cleveland, OH, Montgomery, AL, Birmingham, AL, and Augusta, GA.

Adjusted for cost of living, Columbia, Maryland has the highest median annual household income at $104,886 which is about three times higher than those living in Detroit which has the lowest average income at $33,329. In terms of affordable housing, New York City ranks last which is followed by Los Angeles, and Glendale, California. In terms of the poverty rate, Detroit, MI has the highest rate, followed by Cleveland, OH, Huntington, WV, Rochester, NY, and Buffalo, NY. 

The 182 Most And Least Stressed Cities In America: 1 represents the worst conditions for that metric category with the exception of Total Score.

Overall Rank* 

City

Total Score 

Work Stress 

Financial Stress 

Family Stress 

Health & Safety Stress 

1

Cleveland, OH

62.62

47

1

3

2

2

Detroit, MI

57.75

50

2

29

1

3

Baltimore, MD

57.43

4

5

9

44

4

Birmingham, AL

57.11

23

20

4

5

5

Philadelphia, PA

55.29

8

9

50

11

6

Shreveport, LA

54.11

64

3

67

6

7

Memphis, TN

53.81

30

11

39

12

8

Fayetteville, NC

53.53

45

17

6

36

9

St. Louis, MO

53.30

48

8

31

17

10

Augusta, GA

52.74

33

24

21

23

11

Montgomery, AL

52.62

60

15

35

7

12

Gulfport, MS

52.39

15

10

85

20

13

New Orleans, LA

52.38

24

4

100

25

14

Houston, TX

52.09

7

70

17

14

15

Akron, OH

51.80

66

13

49

10

16

Toledo, OH

51.52

86

6

62

21

17

Jackson, MS

51.48

44

14

48

26

18

North Las Vegas, NV

51.31

104

31

2

54

19

Milwaukee, WI

51.00

28

39

12

40

20

Huntington, WV

50.97

130

12

104

3

21

Las Vegas, NV

50.83

29

45

13

32

22

San Bernardino, CA

50.71

131

35

5

46

23

Cincinnati, OH

50.53

52

22

41

24

24

San Antonio, TX

50.14

51

52

15

16

25

Newark, NJ

49.93

43

21

14

86

26

Indianapolis, IN

49.84

32

19

74

34

27

Columbus, GA

49.56

147

7

68

29

28

Newport News, VA

49.10

95

34

7

75

29

Fresno, CA

49.03

153

44

1

97

30

Mobile, AL

48.77

69

18

94

19

31

Washington, DC

47.90

1

121

18

119

32

Chicago, IL

47.68

2

30

102

125

33

Dover, DE

47.52

67

23

96

41

34

Baton Rouge, LA

47.20

99

26

112

22

35

Dallas, TX

47.11

21

97

42

42

36

Atlanta, GA

47.10

19

63

53

60

37

Rochester, NY

46.90

109

42

19

73

38

New York, NY

46.85

3

55

65

132

39

Hialeah, FL

46.81

173

27

11

115

40

New Haven, CT

46.56

76

72

22

66

41

Tucson, AZ

46.49

135

62

20

53

42

Buffalo, NY

46.43

57

77

24

65

43

Wilmington, DE

46.43

38

36

90

58

44

Moreno Valley, CA

46.27

59

47

10

113

45

Modesto, CA

46.03

75

122

8

74

46

Little Rock, AR

45.94

159

16

87

51

47

Brownsville, TX

45.73

166

33

32

62

48

Los Angeles, CA

45.70

34

54

34

117

49

Norfolk, VA

45.66

113

32

46

85

50

Miami, FL

45.60

118

25

61

83

51

Bridgeport, CT

45.50

6

49

82

145

52

Columbus, OH

45.49

55

80

70

37

53

Oklahoma City, OK

45.23

92

68

51

47

54

Charleston, WV

45.22

78

117

114

4

55

Henderson, NV

45.09

71

67

28

110

56

Richmond, VA

45.03

49

40

73

92

57

Corpus Christi, TX

45.00

139

79

83

13

58

Long Beach, CA

44.94

46

56

30

141

59

Chattanooga, TN

44.84

123

37

117

31

60

Springfield, MO

44.81

127

43

134

9

61

Knoxville, TN

44.59

134

71

81

28

62

Phoenix, AZ

44.59

85

73

55

56

63

Columbia, SC

44.59

77

28

135

49

64

El Paso, TX

44.55

148

48

40

72

65

Vancouver, WA

44.51

39

95

47

69

66

Fort Smith, AR

44.46

174

41

121

8

67

Tulsa, OK

44.39

145

50

110

18

68

Spokane, WA

44.28

138

123

23

57

69

Jacksonville, FL

43.87

137

38

89

59

70

Fort Wayne, IN

43.76

126

61

56

67

71

Winston-Salem, NC

43.75

108

78

33

112

72

Tacoma, WA

43.72

72

133

25

76

73

Louisville, KY

43.59

22

53

158

48

74

Denver, CO

43.44

5

139

105

98

75

Bakersfield, CA

43.35

119

51

59

103

76

Laredo, TX

43.35

181

64

37

50

77

Fort Worth, TX

43.33

94

96

64

63

78

Worcester, MA

43.29

53

151

16

126

79

Ontario, CA

43.27

150

66

27

122

80

Salem, OR

43.18

101

127

76

38

81

Glendale, AZ

43.06

125

46

72

96

82

Garland, TX

42.98

97

88

69

68

83

Albuquerque, NM

42.87

93

75

75

81

84

Nashville, TN

42.70

20

91

126

87

85

Reno, NV

42.60

154

146

43

43

86

Arlington, TX

42.58

87

89

98

61

87

Kansas City, MO

42.58

91

83

150

15

88

Portland, OR

42.55

12

134

78

134

89

Stockton, CA

42.50

98

92

54

108

90

Greensboro, NC

42.46

88

82

79

89

91

Aurora, CO

42.36

41

93

77

101

92

Las Cruces, NM

42.22

168

29

95

111

93

Riverside, CA

42.19

146

69

52

104

94

Amarillo, TX

41.76

159

86

113

35

95

Oakland, CA

41.53

13

153

45

151

96

Santa Clarita, CA

41.36

31

76

66

170

97

Sacramento, CA

41.26

90

100

37

154

98

Grand Prairie, TX

41.18

144

126

57

64

99

Lubbock, TX

40.99

164

59

141

39

100

Glendale, CA

40.99

26

84

80

164

101

Pittsburgh, PA

40.97

79

58

146

82

102

Fontana, CA

40.84

167

106

44

99

103

Fort Lauderdale, FL

40.69

35

74

148

94

104

Wichita, KS

40.68

151

57

151

52

105

Providence, RI

40.66

82

85

93

136

106

Garden Grove, CA

40.43

128

99

36

159

107

Colorado Springs, CO

40.13

157

104

71

109

108

Mesa, AZ

40.07

129

90

99

118

109

Tampa, FL

39.92

106

115

88

120

110

Casper, WY

39.82

122

135

145

33

111

West Valley City, UT

39.82

182

118

26

90

112

Oceanside, CA

39.65

58

113

109

143

113

Orlando, FL

39.63

178

65

92

93

114

Cape Coral, FL

39.42

81

87

142

107

115

Oxnard, CA

39.35

140

141

63

138

116

Tallahassee, FL

39.27

180

60

123

80

117

Durham, NC

39.24

116

161

58

123

118

Charlotte, NC

39.21

25

147

111

155

119

Santa Ana, CA

39.11

169

108

60

137

120

Honolulu, HI

38.88

83

103

84

173

121

Boston, MA

38.79

18

124

153

150

122

Port St. Lucie, FL

38.78

158

119

143

55

123

Tempe, AZ

38.71

170

107

86

128

124

Yonkers, NY

38.61

11

98

136

172

125

Nampa, ID

38.61

141

102

124

124

126

Des Moines, IA

38.37

136

81

154

91

127

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

38.36

100

130

106

142

128

Peoria, AZ

38.34

63

114

133

139

129

Huntsville, AL

38.33

175

138

147

30

130

Santa Rosa, CA

38.29

54

145

118

148

131

St. Paul, MN

38.28

74

140

132

106

132

Manchester, NH

38.20

111

157

120

84

133

Lewiston, ME

38.06

143

94

167

27

134

Irving, TX

37.84

162

149

116

79

135

Austin, TX

37.72

As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement.

Content may be edited for style and length.

References/Sources/Materials provided by:

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2022/concerned-future-inflation

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress

https://wallethub.com/edu/most-least-stressed-cities/22759

https://www.stress.org/workplace-stress

https://www.apa.org/topics/stress

Tamsyn Julie Webber
Tamsyn Julie Webberhttp://www.worldhealth.net
I'm a healthy aging advocate and journalist at WorldHealth.net working to help spread the message of Alternative Medicine, longevity, health, wellness, well-being, and the use of gentler more natural approaches whenever possible. To keep receiving the free newsletter opt in.
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