BALTIMORE, MD—With April being Stress Awareness Month and money, the economy, and health issues proving to be Americans’ biggest stressors last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on 2024’s Most & Least Stressed States, to identify where Americans can best take care of their mental health and which states are in need of improvement.
WalletHub compared the 50 states across 40 key metrics. The data set ranges from average hours worked per week to the personal bankruptcy rate to the share of adults getting adequate sleep.
Maryland came in at No. 32 out of 50 states. The most stressed state was Louisiana followed by Mississippi. The least stressed state? Minnesota.
| Most Stressed States | Least Stressed States |
| 1. Louisiana | 41. Hawaii |
| 2. Mississippi | 42. Nebraska |
| 3. Nevada | 43. Delaware |
| 4. New Mexico | 44. North Dakota |
| 5. Arkansas | 45. Idaho |
| 6. West Virginia | 46. Iowa |
| 7. Alabama | 47. New Hampshire |
| 8. Kentucky | 48. Utah |
| 9. Oklahoma | 49. South Dakota |
| 10. Texas | 50. Minnesota |
North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate, which is 2.7 times lower than in Nevada, the highest. New Hampshire has the lowest share of the population living in poverty, which is 2.6 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest. Utah has the lowest separation & divorce rate, which is 1.7 times lower than in New Mexico, the highest. Hawaii and Massachusetts have the lowest share of adults in fair or poor health, which is 1.8 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest. Massachusetts has the most psychologists per 100,000 residents, which is 6.4 times more than in Alabama, the fewest.
“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,” says WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. “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.”
“Louisiana is the most stressed state, in large part because it has one of the highest violent crime rates per capita and property crime rates per capita,” Happe added. “Residents of the Bayou State also have the third-highest separation and divorce rate in the country. In addition, financial conditions in Louisiana contribute to people’s stress levels, as the state has the second-highest poverty rate and second-lowest median credit score in the country.”
The full report can be viewed online here at WalletHub.
More in the video below.
Photo via Pixabay
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