Cleveland And Detroit Are The Most Stressed Out Cities In The Nation, With Subpar Living Conditions Causing Stress To Skyrocket
In the bustling, fast-paced landscape of the United States, certain cities deal with more stress than others, grappling with a variety of pressures.
A new poll has found that the living conditions in two major cities in the Rust Belt have caused stress levels to skyrocket.
Researchers with WalletHub looked at more than 180 cities based on 39 factors that can lead to stress, including financial insecurities, workplace struggles, health issues, family conflicts, and local crime.
The study revealed that the residents of Cleveland, Ohio, are bearing the weight of stress more than anyone else in the nation.
In Cleveland, residents have one of the lowest average household incomes in the country, which is under $41,000 after adjusting for the current cost of living.
The city ranked second in terms of health and safety stress, as well as in terms of the local poverty rate, divorce rate, and getting the least amount of sleep.
Their separation and divorce rate is at nearly 41 percent, while over 20 percent of adults have 14 or more mentally unhealthy days per month, and 43 percent of adults get less than seven hours of sleep per night.
Detroit, Michigan, was the only city worse than Cleveland in these categories. Detroit is the number two most stressed city in the U.S.
The city has the highest unemployment rate in the entire nation, at 8.2 percent. Poverty, family structures, physical inactivity, lack of safety, and bad credit also afflict this city.
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Within the top five, the others are Baltimore, Maryland; Memphis, Tennessee; and Gulfport, Mississippi.
These cities experience similar stresses. While some stress is out of our control, such as interpersonal issues at home, at work, or among friends, the place you live in can also contribute to stress.
“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,” said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe.
The top stressors in America are money, health, and the economy. However, three in five people don’t talk about their stress, mainly because they don’t want to burden others with it.
The least-stressed cities in America are Fremont, California; South Burlington, Vermont; and Fargo, North Dakota. Additionally, Portland, Maine, is one of the healthiest places in America, with the lowest number of adults in fair or poor health.
To figure out which cities were the most and least stressed, researchers compared 182 cities across four key categories of stress: work, financial, family, and health/safety.
They evaluated the four categories in each city based on 39 factors using a 100-point scale. A score of 100 represented the highest levels of stress. Finally, they calculated the overall scores and ranked them in order to create the list.
You can see more details of the study here.
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