Stress affects everyone in different ways. Some utilize stress in a positive way when it comes to work or school, and for certain people, acute stress will affect their mental and physical health. Add city life to the mix and things start to get interesting.
According to a recent Study published by WalletHub, Newark, New Jersey has the hardest time coping with stress. A group of analysts assembled to measure their findings by four dimensions and 30 relevant metrics.
Work Stress
Being overworked and not getting in enough hours can both be used to determine the factors of work stress.
Cities like Fayetteville, North Carolina have some of the highest average weekly work hours while Detroit, Madison, and San Bernardino are looking to work more.
Knowing if you have a job for the long run can affect your mental health, and conversely, not knowing can be quite stressful on employees. Shreveport has the lowest job security in the nation, while cities like Plano or Charlotte can rest better knowing they live in a city with the highest employment security.
These dimensions determined Newark as the most stressed city due to work.
Family Stress
Divorce is one of the most stressful experiences to go through. The children are thrown in the mix, while a lawyer is hired as the family ends up in court.
Cleveland ranked first in this study as having the highest divorce rates. The married life in Glendale, California, is ostensibly the best, according to these experts.
Other factors, such as share of single parents, the share of potential cheaters, the median duration of the current marriage, and strength of social ties were used to determine family stress.
Jackson, Mississippi fares the worst when dealing with family related stress.
Financial Stress
Some may say, "money can't buy you happiness," but it sure as heck can make you miserable without it. Poverty rates, housing affordability, credit scores, debt, bankruptcy, and annual household income are all relative factors this study used for their findings.
Finding an affordable place isn't hard to do in cities like Pittsburgh, while San Francisco is the least affordable for housing.
Detroit finds itself on top of the list for a variety of unwelcoming reasons. Detroit along with Cleveland, Brownsville (Texas), Rochester (NY), and San Bernardino have the highest poverty rates. Pembroke Pines in Florida has the lowest.
The people of Birmingham, Alabama, sweat the most when it comes to financial stress.
Health and Safety Stress
Which city takes care of itself the best and which city should start hitting the treadmill? According to the study, Corpus Christi (TX) needs to start renewing their gym memberships. San Jose can be patted on their backs for keeping themselves the best in shape city in the U.S.
Sleep is important, lacking sleep can cause you to make mistakes like driving off the road or messing up at work. When it comes to the least amount of sleep, these two cities take the top honors. One shouldn't surprise you, as Las Vegas and Henderson (Nevada) need to catch on their sleep. Port St. Lucie is still asleep as I write this, finishing first in the highest average hour of sleep per night.
We aren't picking on you Detroit, but go see a doctor, as you rank worst in health and safety stress.
And the city that is most stress free?
This city sleeps well, exercises routinely, works just enough, stays out of court and trouble, and keeps its poverty rate down. Life is good in the city of... Fremont, California, as the least stressed city in the U.S.
