ORLANDO, Fla. – On Monday, WalletHub released its ranking for the most stressed states nationwide.
The study examines which factors* are causing people in different states to stress out the most, looking at categories like work, money, family and safety to determine which states are struggling the most.
“What many people don’t realize, though, is that changing location can also be a big stress reducer,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “For example, states that have lower crime rates, better health care and better economies tend to have much less stressed residents.”
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Nationwide, the most-stressed state turned out to be Louisiana, followed by Kentucky (No. 2) and New Mexico (No. 3).
“Louisiana ranks as the most stressed state, in large part because it has the highest poverty rate in the country. Around 16% of residents haven’t seen a doctor in the past year due to the cost. In addition, Louisiana ranks among the 10 worst states for both the share of adults reporting poor mental health and the share of adults diagnosed with depression. Residents may also find it difficult to find someone to address mental health issues, since Louisiana has fewer psychologists per capita than most other states.
Lastly, the Bayou State had the eighth-highest average unemployment rate in the country last year, and it has the lowest job security than all states.”
WalletHub, “Most & Least Stressed States”
On the other end of the spectrum, South Dakota was the least stressed state, followed by Utah (No. 49) and Minnesota (No. 48).
But what about Florida?
Well, the study reveals that the Sunshine State sits relatively high at No. 20, though it wasn’t work, health or safety concerns that were the biggest source of stress.
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Instead, researchers determined that Florida suffered in particular from “family-related stress.”
Meanwhile, the full ranking is below:
RankStateScoreBiggest Stressor1Louisiana62.86Work2Kentucky58.18Work3New Mexico57.65Family4West Virginia56.20Health/Safety5Arkansas55.60Health/Safety6Nevada53.82Health/Safety7Oklahoma53.47Health/Safety8Oregon52.39Family9Mississippi52.16Money10Alabama50.99Money11Tennessee50.35Health/Safety12California49.65Family13Wyoming49.30Work14Arizona48.09Family15Texas47.97Health/Safety16Indiana47.96Money17Michigan46.77Health/Safety18New York46.51Family19Montana46.44Money20Florida46.16Family21Washington46.09Family22Rhode Island45.35Family23Delaware45.07Work24Alaska45.05Work25Georgia45.00Money and Health/Safety26Maine44.14Money27Ohio43.93Family28Colorado43.90Work29South Carolina43.85Money30Illinois43.82Work31Missouri43.61Health/Safety32Maryland42.51Work33Nebraska42.45Family34Pennsylvania42.22Work35North Carolina41.60Money36Kansas41.28Work37Wisconsin41.01Family38Virginia40.82Work and Family39Hawaii39.14Work40New Jersey38.17Work41Iowa37.28Work42Massachusetts36.54Family43Connecticut36.46Family44North Dakota35.84Work45Idaho35.12Money46Vermont33.77Family47New Hampshire33.51Health/Safety48Minnesota33.50Work49Utah32.61Money50South Dakota32.35Health/Safety
*The methodology is as follows:
Work-Related Stress
Money-Related Stress
Median Income
Debt per median earnings
Median credit score
Personal bankruptcy rate
Share of adults with financial anxiety
Economic security score
Share of people unable to save for children’s college
Share of adults paying only minimum on credit cards
Share of population living below poverty
Housing affordability
Family-Related Stress
Separation and divorce rate
Share of single parents
Cost of childcare
“Parental-leave policy” score
Parental stress
Share of parents without emotional support
Share of parents who changed/quit jobs due to problems with childcare
Health- and Safety-Related Stress
Share of adults in fair or poor health
Share of adults diagnosed with depression
Mental health
Suicide rate
Unaffordability of doctor visits
Share of parents frustrated in efforts to get health services for their child
Increase in annual health insurance premiums
Share of insured population
Psychologists per capita
Physical activity rate
Share of adults getting adequate sleep
Bullying incidents rate
Crime rate per capita
Hate-crime incidents per capita
Well-being index
Quality of infrastructure
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