Ohio City Ranks As The 'Most Stressed' City In America

Stress can come in many forms and from every side, from facing financial hardships and job loss to food insecurity and medical debt or even rising crime rates striking fear and paranoia in some residents. Unfortunately, some cities have it harder than others as a new report breaks down which destinations are more stressed and which are less troubled.

WalletHub compiled a list of the most and least stressed cities in America in 2024, comparing data for over 180 cities, including at least the two most populated cities in each state. Several cities in Ohio ranked among the "most stressed," including one Buckeye State locale that found a spot at the very top of the list:

• No. 1: Cleveland
• No. 8: Akron
• No. 23: Cincinnati
• No. 26: Toledo
• No. 67: Columbus

According to the report, Cleveland earned the top spot "in part to the fact it has one of the lowest median household incomes in the country after adjusting for the cost of living, at under $41,000." Additionally, it has "the second-highest separation and divorce rate in the country at nearly 41%, along with the 19th-highest percentage of single-parent households." Health and safety is also a concern in Cleveland as "over 20% of adults have 14 or more mentally unhealthy days per month, and 43% of adults sleep less than seven hours per night."

These are the 10 most stressed cities in the U.S.:

1. Cleveland, Ohio
2. Detroit, Michigan
3. Baltimore, Maryland
4. Memphis, Tennessee
5. Gulfport, Mississippi
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7. Birmingham, Alabama
8. Akron, Ohio
9. New Orleans, Louisiana
10. Jackson, Mississippi

To determine its ranking, WalletHub compared 182 cities across four factors: work stress, financial stress, family stress and health & safety stress. These factors were then evaluated using 39 relevant metrics, including average weekly work hours, job security, unemployment rate, income growth, housing affordability, median annual household income, poverty rate, separation & divorce rate, child care cost, mental health, suicide rate, crime rate, number of mass shootings and more.

Check out WalletHub 's full report to see which cities are the most and least stressed in the country.