Photo: Nick Karvounis
Is wanting a low-stress life completely unreasonable?
Sometimes it might seem like it.
Like modern life is just a series of one stressful thing after another. Although it is easy to think that you are the only person who is super stressed all the time, we have all been there.
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On my commute to work, I often wonder if other people stuck doing the same commute as I am day-in and day-out are thinking about moving someplace where they didn’t have to waste hours stuck in traffic, working endless hours to live in a city where they can’t afford to buy a home.
Yes, where you live can totally impact your stress level. This got us thinking: What are the most stressed cities in each state? So we decided to find out.
You can find each state’s most stressed city below, but first, let’s check out the top 10.
These are some of the ten most stressed cities in the United States:
HERE ARE THE 10 MOST STRESSED CITY IN EACH STATE FOR 2019:
- West New York, NJ
- Huron, CA
- South Miami, FL
- Glassmanor, MD
- Edgewater, CO
- Manorhaven, NY
- Woodlawn CDP (Fairfax County), VA
- Justice, IL
- Fair Oaks, GA
- Terrytown, LA
Not that surprising, right? At least most of them. Florida and Colorado are the surprise elements.
You might be curious about how we came up with this list. Well, let me explain.
HOW WE CALCULATED THE MOST STRESSED CITY IN EACH STATE
Using the most recent data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey for 2013-2017 and BLS, we ranked each city in America in the following criteria:
- Unemployment
- Hours Worked
- Commute Times
- Population Density
- Home Price to Income Ratio
- Percent of Uninsured Population
The higher a city ranked in any of these areas, the more stressed it was. We then took a closer look at each of the 50 states, and ranked the cities in each state from most stressed to least stressed.
This helped us determine the most stressed city in each of the 50 states.
Before we get to the full list of the most stressed city in each state, let us look at the top 10 most stressed cities:
THE 10 MOST STRESSED CITY IN EACH STATE FOR 2019
1. West New York, NJ
Population: 53,345
Commute Length: 37.2
Hours Worked: 39.1
West New York, NJ is the most stressed city in America. West New York is one of the most densely populated cities not just in the United States but worldwide. That along with super long commute and high unemployment rates make this city the most stressed in America.
Population: 6,926
Commute Length: 28.7
Hours Worked: 45.7
Huron, California either has really dedicated workers who all love their jobs, or it has the worst employers in the country because people in Huron work incredibly long hours.
It also has the lowest average income of the 50 most stressed cities on our list. One reason could be the fact that this part of California has a large number of migrant farm workers.
Population: 12,255
Commute Length: 28.1
Hours Worked: 40.6
South Miami, Florida? This is a surprising one, we agree. All the beautiful beaches, abundant sunshine, and exciting nightlife wasn’t enough of a stress relief for South Miamians. Long commutes, high unemployment rate, exorbitant home prices, and a large number of uninsured people put South Miami number 3 on our most stressed city.
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 18,158
Commute Length: 40.9
Hours Worked: 39.2
Glassmanor, Maryland has one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation. Plus, it is a suburb of Washington, D.C. Now, who wouldn’t be stressed living that close to the nation’s capital?
Population: 5,299
Commute Length: 23.6
Hours Worked: 41.6
Edgewater, Colorado is right next to Denver, and it is another one of the cities on our list that is a bit baffling. Edgewater’s close proximity nature and scenery don’t help the fact that the city has a high unemployment rate of almost 10% and a large number of people in the city don’t have access to proper healthcare.
Population: 6,627
Commute Length: 45.4
Hours Worked: 39.9
People living in Manorhaven, New York have one of the worst commutes in the country.
With the average home price in this city being over a half a million dollars, it is no surprise it is number 6 on our most stressed list.
7. Woodlawn CDP (Fairfax County), VA
Source: Public Domain
Population: 23,041
Commute Length: 37.6
Hours Worked: 39.0
Number 7 on our most list is Woodlawn, Virginia. Bad commute and lack of health insurance is enough to stress out the most chill person, and people of Woodlawn are no exception.
Population: 12,973
Commute Length: 31.9
Hours Worked: 39.9
“Peaceful, pretty, and proud” might be the motto of Justice, Illinois, but data shows that it is the most stressed city in Illinois–more so than even Chicago. Turns out super long commutes, high unemployment rate, and lack of proper health care options are enough things to cause high amounts of stress.
Population: 9,159
Commute Length: 36.2
Hours Worked: 38.9
With almost half of the population having no health insurance, Fair Oaks, Georgia is next on our list. With the median household income of just under $31,000, People of Fair Oaks have plenty on their plates to be stressed about.
Population: 24,216
Commute Length: 25.6
Hours Worked: 40.4
Terrytown, Louisiana has a combination of factors that work against it including high unemployment rate, a sizable number of uninsured people, and long work hours for relatively low median income.
This article first appeared on Zippia.
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