2020’s Most & Least Stressed States

Stress affects everyone. Although we cannot eliminate stress entirely from our lives, we can minimize it by choosing to live in the least toxic environments. American stress levels have remained relatively stable for the past few years, with the most common personal stressors in 2019 being work and money. Americans also commonly worry about the current political climate, mass shootings and healthcare. In addition, according to a recent WalletHub survey, coronavirus has become the biggest source of stress for Americans in 2020.

But certain states have contributed more than others to elevating — or decreasing — stress levels in the U.S. WalletHub compared the 50 states across 41 key indicators of stress to determine the places to avoid and achieve a more relaxing life. Our data set ranges from average hours worked per week to personal bankruptcy rate to share of adults getting adequate sleep. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and our full methodology.

Main Findings

 

Most Stressed States

Overall Rank (1=Most Stressed)	State	Total Score	‘Work-Related Stress’ Rank	‘Money-Related Stress’ Rank	‘Family-Related Stress’ Rank	‘Health- & Safety-Related Stress’ Rank
1	Louisiana	57.30	3	2	6	7
2	Mississippi	56.20	5	1	9	2
3	New Mexico	52.68	11	3	2	17
4	Arkansas	52.00	17	6	19	1
5	West Virginia	51.96	4	4	34	3
6	Nevada	51.03	29	11	1	11
7	Kentucky	50.59	12	10	7	8
8	Alabama	50.30	36	8	5	6
9	Oklahoma	50.13	6	21	8	5
10	Alaska	49.23	1	46	36	23
11	Tennessee	48.26	42	5	25	4
12	Georgia	47.06	20	16	10	16
13	Florida	47.05	40	15	3	21
14	Oregon	45.43	49	13	13	10
15	Arizona	44.61	37	18	12	20
16	Texas	44.27	13	30	11	18
17	North Carolina	43.89	24	25	14	19
18	New York	43.76	9	17	16	35
19	Indiana	43.28	30	22	30	12
20	South Carolina	43.12	45	19	22	14
21	Michigan	42.91	23	34	17	15
22	Idaho	42.90	44	9	38	13
23	Ohio	42.50	22	20	29	24
24	Illinois	41.70	7	24	33	28
25	Pennsylvania	41.29	19	31	24	22
26	Missouri	41.22	21	28	45	9
27	Maine	40.76	31	23	26	29
28	Wyoming	40.17	2	44	39	31
29	Rhode Island	40.08	33	14	20	40
30	California	40.00	35	12	21	42
31	Montana	39.20	18	26	41	27
32	Nebraska	38.69	32	48	4	34
33	Vermont	38.65	34	7	37	44
34	Connecticut	38.20	14	35	15	45
35	Virginia	37.95	27	42	18	36
36	Washington	37.28	46	29	35	26
37	New Jersey	37.18	15	38	40	33
38	Massachusetts	36.97	39	36	23	37
39	Kansas	36.45	25	37	46	25
40	Delaware	36.05	26	33	27	49
41	Maryland	35.76	8	40	32	48
42	Wisconsin	35.49	28	43	31	38
43	Colorado	35.46	48	27	28	46
44	Hawaii	33.73	16	39	44	47
45	New Hampshire	32.01	43	41	43	43
46	Utah	31.92	50	32	49	32
47	Iowa	31.38	47	45	42	39
48	South Dakota	30.55	41	47	50	30
49	North Dakota	30.17	10	50	48	41
50	Minnesota	27.62	38	49	47	50

 

Ask the Experts

For the best ways to cope with negative stressors, we turned to a panel of experts. You can read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions below.

1. What tips do you have for fighting stress without spending money?
2. What steps can people take to reduce stressing over finances?
3. Should insurance companies cover treatments that help reduce stress?
4. What tips do you have for parents trying to minimize stress in their children?

Methodology

In order to determine the most and least stressed states, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across four key dimensions: 1) Work-Related Stress, 2) Money-Related Stress, 3) Family-Related Stress, 4) Health- & Safety-Related Stress.

We evaluated those dimensions using 41 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of stress.

We then determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Work-Related Stress – Total Points: 25

• Average Hours Worked per Week: Double Weight (~5.26 Points)
• Average Commute Time: Half Weight (~1.32 Points)
• Average Leisure Time Spent per Day: Full Weight (~2.63 Points)
• Job Security: Full Weight (~2.63 Points)
• Unemployment Rate: Double Weight (~5.26 Points)
• Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~2.63 Points)
• Income Growth Rate (2018 vs. 2017): Double Weight (~5.26 Points)

Money-Related Stress – Total Points: 25

• Median Income: Double Weight (~3.57 Points)
  Note: Adjusted for cost of living.
• Debt per Median Earnings: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Median Credit Score: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Personal Bankruptcy Rate: Double Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Share of Adults Worried about Money: Double Weight (~3.57 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the percentage of state residents who report having worried about money in the last seven days.
• Economic Confidence Index: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
  Notes: Gallup's Economic Confidence Index is based on state residents' views of economic conditions in the U.S. today, and whether they think economic conditions in the country are getting better or getting worse.
• Share of People Unable to Save for Children’s College: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Share of Adults Paying Only Minimum on Credit Card(s): Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Share of Population Living in Poverty: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Housing Affordability: Double Weight (~3.57 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated as follows: Housing Costs (accounts for both rental and sale prices) / Median Annual Household Income.

Family-Related Stress – Total Points: 25

• Separation & Divorce Rate: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Share of Single Parents: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Cost of Childcare: Triple Weight (~8.33 Points)
  Note: Adjusted for median household income.
• “Parental-Leave Policy” Score: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Parental Stress: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
  Note: This composite metric considers the percentage of parents who felt angry with their child, felt the child does things to bother them or felt the child is difficult to care for.
• Share of Parents Without Emotional Support: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the percentage of parents who do not have someone they could turn to for day-to-day emotional support with parenting or raising children.
• Share of Parents Who Changed/Quit Jobs Due to Problems with Child Care: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)

Health- & Safety-Related Stress – Total Points: 25

• WalletHub "Most Aggressive States Against the Coronavirus" Score: Quadruple Weight (~4.26 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s "Most Aggressive States Against the Coronavirus" ranking, based on data available as of 2 p.m. EST on Monday, March 23.
• Share of Adults in Fair or Poor Health: Double Weight (~2.13 Points)
• Share of Adults Diagnosed with Depression: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
• Mental Health: Double Weight (~2.13 Points)
• Suicide Rate: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
• Unaffordability of Doctor Visits: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
  Note: Measures percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who reported not seeing a doctor in the past 12 months due to cost.
• Share of Parents Frustrated in Efforts to Get Health Services for Their Child: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the share of parents frustrated in their efforts to get health services for their child in the past 12 months.
• Increase in Annual Health Insurance Premiums: Double Weight (~2.13 Points)
• Share of Insured Population: Double Weight (~2.13 Points)
  Note: “Population” includes noninstitutionalized civilians aged 16 years and older.
• Psychologists per Capita: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
• Physical Activity Rate: Half Weight (~0.53 Points)
• Share of Adults Getting Adequate Sleep: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
  Note: Measures percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who reported getting seven or more hours of sleep per 24-hour period.
• Bullying Incidents Rate: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
  Note: Measures both the percentage of high school students who were bullied on school property and the percentage of high school students who were bullied electronically/online.
• Crime Rate per Capita: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
• Hate-Crime Incidents per Capita: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
• Well-Being Index: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
• Quality of Infrastructure: Full Weight (~1.06 Points)
  Note: “Infrastructure” refers to roads and bridges.

Videos for News Use:

• YouTube (for web embedding National)
• YouTube (for web embedding Louisiana)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, United Health Foundation, Council for Community and Economic Research, Administrative Office of the United States Courts, TransUnion, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Child Care Aware of America, National Partnership for Women & Families, Gallup-Healthways, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kaiser Family Foundation, The Road Information Program and WalletHub research.

Community Discussion

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@rustysouthwick

April 4, 2020

The methodology in rankings of this type is subject to inherent population bias, meaning the states with the lowest populations will tend to be toward the high and low extremes, while the higher population states will regress to the middle, or the mean. I compared these rankings with the populations of the states, and of the 18 most populous states, all 18 were bunched in the middle 30, so none of them were in either the top ten or bottom ten. What this means is that if, say, Louisiana had a much higher population, it would gravitate toward the middle, because its population would then be more evenly spread out in its demographics. The same thing happens when comparisons are made between the U.S. and smaller countries like Denmark or Norway. Smaller populations are going to be nearer the extremes, and the big countries will congregate toward the middle.

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