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- Memphis is among the top five most stressful places to live in the U.S.
- The most stressed city in the country is Detroit, Michigan, according to WalletHub.
Life can be stressful.
Between work, family and finances, there’s a lot that can cause stress in your life. Additionally, some stress can come from where you live, according to a new WalletHub study.
To determine which areas are the most stressed and where Americans cope best, WalletHub compared 182 cities across the country. The personal finance company used 39 metrics to rank the cities, including average weekly work hours, unemployment rate, suicide rates and more.
Each town was given a score across five categories to calculate the stress level of the area: Work stress, financial stress, family stress and health and safety stress.
“Cities with high crime rates, weak economies, less effective public health and congested transportation systems naturally lead to elevated stress levels for residents,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “When moving, it’s important to consider how a certain city may impact your mental health – not just your financial opportunities.”
Within the Volunteer State, WalletHub looked at four major metro areas: Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga.
Here’s how Tennessee cities stacked up against one another. Do you agree?
No. 5: Memphis
Memphis cracked the top 5 most stressed cities in America, according to WalletHub.
While the Bluff City ranked fairly low in the work stress category, it was ranked the most stressful place to live for health and safety.
The health and safety category accounts for things like the local crime rate, the share of adults in fair or poor health, the suicide rate, the number of adults who smoke, the obesity rate and more.
Overall, Memphis scored 57.57 points out of 100. The Bluff City ranked ahead of Shreveport, Louisiana, and behind Gulfport, Mississippi, in the national rankings.
No. 65: Chattanooga
Chattanooga is the second most stressed city in Tennessee and is ranked No. 65 nationally,
The Southeastern Tennessee city is significantly less stressed than Memphis, taking the No. 65 spot on the WalletHub national list. accruing 45.02 points across the five stress categories.
Like Memphis, Chattanooga has one of the lowest rates of work stress in the U.S. It is in the bottom 30% of all 182 cities sampled.
Chattanooga also had a relatively low family stress rank. The family stress category includes metrics like divorce rates, cost of childcare and the share of single-parent households. Chattanooga came in at No. 113 in that category.
No. 67: Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee’s fastest-growing city, is the second-least stressed city in the Volunteer State. The Scruffy City ranked at No. 67 in WalletHub’s rankings, only separated from Chattanooga by Richmond, Virginia.
The East Tennessee city earned 44.90 points, separated from Chattanooga by less than one point.
Following in the footsteps of the other Tennessee towns on the list, Knoxville has low work stress and a large amount of stress surrounding health and safety. Knoxville ranked No. 17 in the U.S. for stress around health and safety.
No. 90: Nashville
Tennessee’s largest city is also the least stressed.
The WalletHub survey shows a glaring difference between Nashville and the other major cities in the state. Nashville proved to be the most stressed by work, which is the opposite of the consistent trends from other Tennessee cities.
Nashville ranked No. 13 in work stress, which is calculated based on the unemployment rate, average commute time to work, job satisfaction rate and more.
Continuing to defy the other cities’ consistencies, Nashville has lower stress surrounding finances and family, according to WalletHub. In both categories, Nashville was in the bottom 40% of the ranked cities.
What are the 10 most stressed cities in the U.S.?
- Detroit, Michigan
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Gulfport, Mississippi
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Toledo, Ohio
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Jackson, Mississippi