What Are the Most Stressed Cities in the U.S.? New Study Reveals Contributing Factors and Conditions
We all get overwhelmed at times. Whether you’re worried about your family, fretting about money or are simply inundated with life’s everyday grievances, it’s not surprising that those feelings can quickly turn into stress. But did you know that where you live can also contribute to your stress? That’s right, in a new study from WalletHub, they revealed the most stressed cities in the U.S. Curious to see if your city made the rankings? Keep reading to learn which cities are the most stressed and how they arrived at these findings.
What are the most stressed cities in the United States?
To compile their list, the researchers at WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities over four key categories: work stress, financial stress, family stress and health and safety stress.
From there, the four areas of stress were evaluated with 39 different metrics. Some of those include annual work week hours, median annual household income, separation and divorce rate and crime rate. Those metrics were weighted and given point values totaling to 25 points in each category.
The team found each city’s weighted average across all metrics, calculated the average score and those scores were used to fill in the overall ranking.
From WalletHub’s methodology, they were able to rank all 182 cities with No. 1 being the most stressed and No. 182 being the least.
“Some stress is out of our control, due to issues with family, friends or employers,” said Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub analyst in a statement. “However, where you live can play a big role in how stressed you are. Cities with high crime rates, weak economies, less effective public health and congested transportation systems naturally lead to elevated stress levels for residents. When moving, it’s important to consider how a certain city may impact your mental health – not just your financial opportunities.” Here, the top three most stressed cities in the U.S.:
Most stressed cities: Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio, was revealed as the most stressed city in the U.S. with a score of 60.37. The data, which was shared on July 8, showed that Cleveland is No. 1 mainly because it has one of the lowest median household incomes in the country at only $41,000.
Other financial issues including being behind on bills, and the second-highest poverty rate also contribute to Cleveland’s high ranking. The city was also ranked No. 1 in 2023.
In addition to being the most stressed city, Cleveland is also first when it comes to financial stress, second in health and safety stress and 12th in family stress.
Most stressed cities: Detroit, Michigan
With a score of 59.72, Detroit, Michigan, takes second place. It was ranked first in terms of overall health and safety stress with high rankings across the other categories as well.
According to WalletHub, "The city has the highest unemployment rate in America, at 8.2%." It also has a lot of stress in the family sphere as the separation and divorce rate is high and many people are living in single-parent households.
Safety isn’t great either and Detroit consistently struggles with high rates of crime.
Most stressed cities: Baltimore, Maryland
Rounding out the top three is Baltimore, Maryland. Financial stress is the biggest contributor and this city is in second place for that category.
People in Baltimore are struggling financially mainly due to the cost of living. “It’s very expensive to rent in the city, with the average annual rent for a two-bedroom apartment at nearly 40% of the median household income, the fourth-highest in the country,” per WalletHub. Many residents also can’t keep up with their mortgage payments.
It’s third overall, but has other stressors that contribute to the ranking including the 13th-highest traffic congestion rate and the 10th-highest food insecurity rate.
Other cities in the top 10 are Memphis, Tennessee, Gulfport, Mississippi, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Birmingham, Alabama, Akron, Ohio, New Orleans, Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi.
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