This Map Reveals the Most Stressed Out Cities in the Country

By JOE MCGAULEY Published On 01/15/2019 @jwmcgauley 

Miami | Shutterstock

Much like apple pie, pickup trucks, and Bud Light, complaining about how stressed out you are all the time is one of those things that feels inherently American. And yes, it's true there is plenty -- perhaps too much -- to be stressed out about in this country right now, but the truth is people in certain places tend to feel it just a little bit more. Now, we have a better idea of where exactly those places are, thanks to this new study that reveals the most stressed out cities in America.

This fresh batch of intel from the number crunchers at career search site Zippia pulls back the curtain on which parts of the country people report the highest levels of stress. To figure out which locales earned a spot at the top of the list, the team looked at a half-dozen factors including commute times, work hours, population density, unemployment rate, the percentage of uninsured residents, and home price to income ratios, all based on info gathered in US Census American Community Survey between 2013 and 2017. Specifically, they looked at the data for the 306 biggest cities in America (those with a population over 100,000) and then ranked and mapped those with the highest stress levels accordingly.

Interestingly, the most stressed out city on the list is Miami, having topped the charts on all accounts. That's followed by Jersey City, New Jersey and Newark, New Jersey while East Los Angeles, California and Inglewood, California round out the number four and five spots, respectively. Here's how the list of top 25 most-stressed cities shakes out.

25. Philadelphia, PA
24. Pompano Beach, FL
23. Jurupa Valley, CA
22. Rialto, CA
21. Oxnard, CA
20. Yonkers, NY
19. Oakland, CA
18. Washington, DC
17. Pomona, CA
16. Miami Gardens, FL
15. Downey, CA
14. Alexandria, VA
13. Hollywood, FL
12. El Monte, CA
11. Long Beach, CA
10. Fort Lauderdale, FL
9. Los Angeles, CA
8. Chicago, IL
7. Elizabeth, NJ
6. New York, NY
5. Inglewood, CA
4. East Los Angeles, CA
3. Newark, NJ
2. Jersey City, NJ
1. Miami, FL

Zippia

You'll notice the bulk of the most-stressed spots are on the East and West coasts, South Florida, and a smattering of hotspots in major cities in the middle of the country. And while a beachy and seemingly care-free Miami may seem like an odd pick for number one, it's good to remember much of that reputation is based on it serving as a vacation destination for out-of-towners. As Zippia notes, it all tracks when you consider the sort of hustle that's required to make a go of it in these expensive cities with exceedingly competitive job markets.

Interestingly though, this list differs quite a bit from a similar one that was conducted by the folks at WalletHub earlier this year. That's mostly a product of the different metrics that were used to determine the rankings (WalletHub looked a bit deeper into things like family stress and "healthy and safety" stressors). 

Either way, if this revelation has you reconsidering your surroundings and looking for a home-base where happiness wins out over stress, may we suggest perusing this list. 

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Joe McGauley is a senior writer for Thrillist. Follow him @jwmcgauley.