{"id":179069,"date":"2026-03-29T19:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T19:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/179069\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T19:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T19:57:09","slug":"the-top-10-most-stressed-out-states-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/179069\/","title":{"rendered":"The top 10 most stressed out states revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Americans hoping to\u00a0unwind on their next trip<\/a>\u00a0may want to think twice about where they\u2019re headed.<\/p>\n

A comparison of all 50 states using 40 indicators of stress \u2014 including work, money, family and health factors \u2014 found that densely populated states with major metro areas did not top the list, according to a new WalletHub study.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, states across the South and southwest ranked among the\u00a0most stressed overall.<\/a><\/p>\n

Louisiana ranks as the most stressed state in the country for 2026, followed by Kentucky, New Mexico, West Virginia and Arkansas, WalletHub found. Rounding out the top 10 were Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Mississippi and Alabama.<\/p>\n

The results may come as a surprise to travelers who might expect New York <\/a>or Illinois to top the list. Instead, both states ranked lower, with New York at No. 18 and Illinois at No. 30.<\/p>\n

Experts say the findings indicate that stress isn\u2019t just tied to fast-paced city life but is often linked to broader economic and health challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere we live can shape how much stress we experience,\u201d Cassandra D. Chaney, a professor at LSU who studies family stress, said in a WalletHub\u00a0news release.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThese realities remind us that stress is not simply an individual problem,\u201d she added. \u201cBroader social and economic environments play a powerful role in shaping daily stressors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AAccording to a survey, Louisiana is the most stressed out state in the country. crizzystudio \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

In Louisiana, factors such as high poverty rates, limited access to health care and mental health services and job insecurity contribute to elevated stress levels, Chaney noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 16% of residents skipped medical care due to cost, and the state ranks among the worst for\u00a0poor mental health and depression\u00a0while also having relatively few psychologists per capita, according to the report. It also recorded the eighth-highest average unemployment rate last year and the lowest job security of any state.<\/p>\n

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Kentucky, meanwhile,\u00a0faces significant financial strain,\u00a0with one of the highest bankruptcy rates and among the lowest median credit scores in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Mexico \u2026 faces high crime rates, financial hardship and significant family instability,\u201d Chaney added. \u201cNevada experiences high unemployment and bankruptcy rates, contributing to financial stress among residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

For travelers to popular destinations such as Nevada (No. 6) and\u00a0California (No. 12),\u00a0the data suggests daily life may differ from the experience visitors see.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, some of the least stressed states may offer clues for those seeking a more relaxing getaway.<\/p>\n

South Dakota ranked as the least stressed state, followed by Utah, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Vermont, according to the report. These states tend to perform better in areas such as economic stability, health care access and work-life balance.<\/p>\n

They also report higher rates of adequate sleep, an often overlooked factor tied to lower stress levels, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the top 10 least stressed states were Hawaii, Virginia, Wisconsin, Kansas and North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Experts note that stress is influenced by multiple factors and can vary by individual.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we cannot eliminate stress completely, we can become more intentional about how we manage it,\u201d Chaney said.<\/p>\n

Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub, added in a statement, \u201cThere are plenty of\u00a0small ways to manage stress,\u00a0from staying active and pursuing hobbies to taking time off work and seeking help from a mental health professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

The analysis compared all 50 states across four key categories \u2014 work, money, family and health and safety \u2014 using 40 weighted metrics and data from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Americans hoping to\u00a0unwind on their next trip\u00a0may want to think twice about where they\u2019re headed. A comparison of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[232,9,24,55,54,56,25566,32544,32545],"class_list":["post-179069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-lifestyle","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-stress","tag-survey-says","tag-surveys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}