25 Most Stressed-Out Cities in America

According to the American Psychological Association, Americans’ stress levels are trending downward. However, the improvements have been uneven. Just as the income gap has been growing, so has the gap between people who seem to manage stress well and those who do not.

In its latest annual review of stress in America, the APA identified money and work as the two largest sources of stress for Americans, followed by the economy, family responsibilities, and personal health concerns. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a range of data in these categories in order to measure the likelihood of living in stress in urban areas. To identify the most stressed city in every state, 24/7 Wall St. created an index of data measuring the two most common sources of stress — money and work — in U.S. metropolitan areas. 

For possible money-related stressors, we reviewed poverty rates, housing affordability, and food insecurity. For possible work-related stressors, we included average weekly work hours, average daily commute times in hours, and annual unemployment rates. With the exception of food insecurity and unemployment rates, which came from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), respectively, all data used in the index came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey (ACS). The incidence of violent crime in each area comes from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2014 Uniform Crime Report. 

All data are for the most recent periods available. While the potential consequences of stress were not considered in our index, they were reviewed in each state’s MSAs.

These are the 25 most stressed-out cities.

25. Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia

·          Total population: 583,010

·         Poverty rate: 18.9%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 37.6

·         Unemployment rate: 7.3%

·         Violent crime rate(per 100,000 people): N/A

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 15.3%

24. Lake Charles, Louisiana

·         Total population: 204,059

·         Poverty rate: 18.2%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 38.2

·         Unemployment rate: 5.9%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 283.1

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 19.9%

23. Texarkana, Texas

·         Total population: 147,740

·         Poverty rate: 20.0%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 37.5

·         Unemployment rate: 6.2%

·         Violent crime rate(per 100,000 people): 316.6

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 22.1%

22. Rome, Georgia

·         Total population: 96,063

·         Poverty rate: 20.8%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 38.0

·         Unemployment rate: 7.9%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 117

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 21.6%

20. Hinesville, Georgia

·         Total population: 82,768

·         Poverty rate: 15.6%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 38.8

·         Unemployment rate: 7.7%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 218.2

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 20.0%

19. San Angelo, Texas

·         Total population: 118,296

·         Poverty rate: 15.1%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 36.4

·         Unemployment rate: 4.0%

·         Violent crime rate(per 100,000 people): 750.2

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 19.3%

18. Lafayette, Louisiana

·         Total population: 484,974

·         Poverty rate: 16.3%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 37.1

·         Unemployment rate: 5.4%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 429.9

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 17.8%

17. Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa

·         Total population: 611,549

·         Poverty rate: 12.0%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 35.8

·         Unemployment rate: 4.2%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 281.8

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 10.8%

16. Macon, Georgia

·         Total population: 233,212

·         Poverty rate: 24.3%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 38.4

·         Unemployment rate: 7.7%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 343.5

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 17.4%

15. Staunton-Waynesboro, Virginia

·         Total population: 119,766

·         Poverty rate: 11.7%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 36.8

·         Unemployment rate: 4.9%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 347.1

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 11.2%

14. Morgantown, West Virginia

·         Total population: 137,251

·         Poverty rate: 23.5%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 37.4

·         Unemployment rate: 4.7%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 348.9

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 17.2%

13. Monroe, Michigan

·         Total population: 149,824

·         Poverty rate: 9.7%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 34.6

·         Unemployment rate: 6.1%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 329.4

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 15.0%

12. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas

·         Total population: 403,958

·         Poverty rate: 18.6%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 39.7

·         Unemployment rate: 7.9%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 243.1

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 15.4%

11. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina

·         Total population: 362,896

·         Poverty rate: 18.9%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 37.1

·         Unemployment rate: 6.4%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 490.6

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 19.8%

10. Wichita Falls, Texas

·         Total population: 151,536

·         Poverty rate: 19.2%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 37.2

·         Unemployment rate: 4.8%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 421.6

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 20.2%

9. Dalton, Georgia

·         Total population: 142,952

·         Poverty rate: 21.6%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 39.1

·         Unemployment rate: 8.3%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 176.2

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 25.2%

8. Longview, Texas

·         Total population: 217,481

·         Poverty rate: 16.2%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 38.9

·         Unemployment rate: 4.9%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 406.3

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 18.7%

7. Columbus, Indiana

·         Total population: 80,217

·         Poverty rate: 12.7%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 39.2

·         Unemployment rate: 4.5%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 402.8

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 14.8%

6. Victoria, Texas

·         Total population: 99,536

·         Poverty rate: 16.7%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 40.0

·         Unemployment rate: 4.1%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 205.1

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 22.7%

5. Midland, Texas

·         Total population: 163,470

·         Poverty rate: 7.8%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 41.3

·         Unemployment rate: 2.9%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 243.3

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 14.9%

4. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas

·         Total population: 6,490,180

·         Poverty rate: 15.3%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 37.1

·         Unemployment rate: 4.9%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 511.4

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 15.9%

3. The Villages, Florida

·         Total population: 114,350

·         Poverty rate: 9.3%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 39.3

·         Unemployment rate: 7.7%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 421

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 14.8%

2. Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana

·         Total population: 211,348

·         Poverty rate: 20.9%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 43.2

·         Unemployment rate: 4.8%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 372.3

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 21.4%

1. Odessa, Texas

·         Total population: 153,904

·         Poverty rate: 10.0%

·         Avg. weekly hours worked: 42.9

·         Unemployment rate: 3.4%

·         Violent crime rate (per 100,000 people): 360

·         Pct. of adults in fair/poor health: 20.7%