Louisiana ranks as the most stressed state in the U.S, a new study has found.
A report from personal-finance website WalletHub has ranked the most and least stressed states in the U.S, by combining indicators of stress across four categories—work, money, family, and health & safety.
Why It Matters
WalletHub noted in the study that stress can stem from numerous sources including work deadlines, inflation, and relationships. Stressors can be compounded by isolation; nearly seven in 10 adults reported they did not receive the emotional support they needed over the past year, the report said.
What To Know
Louisiana topped WalletHub’s list, driven largely by the nation’s highest poverty rate and barriers to care. About 16 percent of residents skipped a doctor visit in the past year due to cost, according to the report.
The state also sits among the 10 worst for adults reporting poor mental health and those diagnosed with depression, while having relatively few psychologists per capita.
Labor pressures add to the strain: Louisiana recorded the eighth‑highest average unemployment rate last year and the lowest job security of any state, according to the report.
Kentucky ranked second, with financial stress as the dominant theme. The state has the third‑highest unemployment rate, the sixth‑highest bankruptcy rate and one of the lowest median credit scores (689), trends that WalletHub said can depress household finances for years.
Family stress is elevated as well, with high rates of separation, divorce and parental strain. Health indicators are troubling: roughly 23 percent of residents describe their health as “fair” or “poor,” the fourth‑highest share nationally, and Kentucky ranks among the worst for poor mental health and diagnosed depression.
New Mexico placed third. It has the second‑highest violent‑crime rate per capita and the highest property‑crime rate, potentially fueling anxiety about personal security. The state also leads the nation in separation and divorce and has one of the highest shares of single‑parent households. Financial pressures persist, with the second‑highest poverty rate and a low median credit score (692), the study found.
Rounding out the top five were West Virginia and Arkansas.
Conversely, the report said the least stressed states were South Dakota, Utah, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
How It Was Calculated
WalletHub said it ranked all 50 states by combining 40 indicators of stress across four categories—work, money, family, and health & safety. Each metric was scored on a100-point scale (with 100 indicating more stress) and assigned a specific weight. WalletHub then calculated a weighted average for each state to produce an overall stress score, which was used to rank-order the states from most to least stressed.
What People Are Saying
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report: “There are plenty of small ways for people to manage stress, from staying active and participating in hobbies to taking vacations from work and getting help from a mental health professional. What many people don’t realize, though, is that changing location can also be a big stress reducer. For example, states that have lower crime rates, better health care and better economies tend to have much less stressed residents.”