Report Reveals Stress Levels By State

Person Jumping For JoyAustin Schmid on Unsplash

Can the state you live in impact your stress level? The answer may surprise you!

WalletHub compared the 50 states and found some scored higher in stress than others. Four main factors were observed: work, money, family, and health-and-safety related stress.

The top ten most-stressed states were Louisiana at number 1, Nevada, New Mexico, West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee.

Alaska averaged the most hours worked per week, Hawaii gets the least amount of sleep, and West Virginia has the most adults in poor/fair health. Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama have the lowest average credit score, which perhaps adds to money-related stress.

Mississippi and Louisiana also have the highest percentage of the population living in poverty, and Louisiana has the fewest number of psychologists per capita.

Which states are the least stressed, on average?

Utah is the least-stressed state, followed by Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Hawaii, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and New Jersey.

Massachusetts works the fewest hours, Arizona has the best job security, and North Dakota has the highest credit score. Utah, Minnesota, and Hawaii boast the lowest % living in poverty.

Interestingly, Minnesota, Hawaii, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Utah, some of the least-stressed states, also boast the lowest divorce rates.

But is the United States happy overall?

According to CNN, the happiest countries for 2022 are Finland, Denmark, and Iceland.

The United States ranks 16th in the world, just above the United Kingdom and below Canada.

This report, now in its 10th year, takes a look at healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support, low corruption and high social trust, generosity, and freedom.

"The big surprise was that globally, in an uncoordinated way, there have been very large increases in all the three forms of benevolence that are asked about in the Gallup World Poll," report founder John Helliwell told CNN. The three forms of benevolence are: Donating to charity; helping a stranger; and volunteering.

Apparently, kindness can help us all become happier!