It's been a tough 16 months, and stress levels have been high—though in some cities across the country, that stress has been tougher to contend with than in others. WalletHub wanted to see which places have been dealing with things best (and which not so much), so it looked at 182 of America's most populated cities, examining more than three dozen metrics in four main categories: work stress, which covers everything from how many hours people put in on the job per week to commute times and unemployment rates; financial stress (i.e., household income, debt, and poverty rates, among other factors); family stress, including separation and divorce rates, as well as the cost of child care; and, high on everyone's mind over the past year-plus, health and safety stress, which looks at COVID cases and deaths, as well as suicide rates, the share of adults who aren't in the best of health, and how much binge drinking is going on. Cleveland is the most stressed city in America, per WalletHub's findings, while South Burlington in Vermont is the least. Read on to see how other cities fare:
Most Stressed Cities
- Cleveland (No. 1 in "Financial Stress" and "Family Stress" categories)
- Detroit
- New Orleans
- Baltimore
- Newark, NJ (No. 1 in "Work Stress" category)
- San Bernardino, Calif.
- Birmingham, Ala.
- North Las Vegas, Nev.
- Philadelphia
- Memphis, Tenn.
Least Stressed Cities - Burlington, Vt.
- Lincoln, Neb.
- Bismarck, ND
- Overland Park, Kan.
- Fargo, ND
- Columbia, Md.
- Nashua, NH
- Madison, Wis.
- Fremont, Calif. (last in "Financial Stress" and "Health & Safety Stress" categories)
- South Burlington, Vt. (last in "Family Stress" category)
See how other cities rank on
WalletHub's list. (Still looking for a city to safely relax in for summer vacation?
These cities are top picks.)