The 20 most stressed states in the US, ranked

Some states are more stressful than others, a WalletHub analysis found. Olga Pankova/Getty Images 2026-03-23T20:15:03.699Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. WalletHub released a report ranking the most-stressed states in the US in 2026. States were ranked across 40 metrics, including median income, mental health, and divorce rates. Louisiana was ranked the most-stressed state, followed by Kentucky and New Mexico. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. How do stress levels vary by region? How is stress measured across states? How does income influence stress levels? What impacts does stress have on health? What strategies reduce state-level stress? If you've been feeling stressed out lately, where you live might have something to do with it.WalletHub examined 40 metrics across all 50 states to determine the most-stressed states in the US. The metrics were divided into four categories, each weighted evenly: work-related stress, money-related stress, family-related stress, and health and safety-related stress.Work-related stress factors included average hours worked per week, as well as each state's job security and the unemployment rate.Money-related stress was evaluated by measuring each state's housing affordability, median credit score, and poverty rate, among other factors. Family-related stress was determined by examining factors such as each state's divorce rate and childcare costs.The health and safety-related stress category ranked states based on factors such as crime rates, the share of adults getting adequate sleep, and residents' self-reported health evaluations.The analysis used data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Partnership for Women & Families, the FBI, and other sources. These 20 states earned the highest rankings, making them the most-stressed states in the US. See if your home state is on the list. 20.

Florida Miami Beach, Florida. Volodymyr TVERDOKHLIB/Shutterstock WalletHub ranked Florida 40th in work-related stress, 19th in money-related stress, eighth in family-related stress, and 27th in health and safety-related stress.It has the fifth-highest divorce rate among the 50 states. 19. Montana Bozeman, Montana. Framalicious/Shutterstock Montana was ranked 46th in work-related stress, 9th in money-related stress, 24th in family-related stress, and 22nd in health and safety-related stress. 18.

New York New York City. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock New York residents experience the third-highest amount of family-related stress out of all 50 states, WalletHub found. The state also ranked 5th in work-related stress, 32nd in money-related stress, and 45th in health and safety-related stress.The state is home to the third-least affordable housing among all states. 17. Michigan Detroit, Michigan. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Michigan was ranked 15th in work-related stress, 34th in money-related stress, 18th in family-related stress, and 14th in health and safety-related stress. 16. Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Indiana's work-related stress ranked 21st, its money-related stress ranked 17th, its family-related stress ranked 29th, and its health and safety-related stress ranked 19th. 15. Texas Dallas, Texas. travelview/Shutterstock Texas was ranked 19th in work-related stress, with residents working the second-most number of hours a week out of any state (tied with Louisiana).Texas also ranked 28th in money-related stress, 31st in family-related stress, and 7th in health and safety-related stress. 14. Arizona Tucson, Arizona. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Arizona residents experience the 44th-most work-related stress, the 12th-highest money-related stress, the 7th-most family-related stress, and the 17th-highest health and safety-related stress. 13. Wyoming Jackson, Wyoming. J.T. Photography/Shutterstock WalletHub ranked Wyoming second in work-related stress, with the state also having the second-lowest job security and the fifth-highest average work hours a week (tied with South Dakota).It also ranked 16th in money-related stress, 40th in family-related stress, and 18th in health and safety-related stress. 12.

California The Pacific Coast in California. UVL/Shutterstock California's family-related stress was ranked the fifth-highest in the US. It was also ranked eighth in work-related stress, 18th in money-related stress, and 31st in health and safety-related stress.California was found to have the least affordable housing in the US. 11. Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee. Photo Spirit/Shutterstock Tennessee ranked 34th in work-related stress, 13th in money-related stress, 23rd in family-related stress, and fifth in health and safety-related stress. WalletHub reported it has the third-highest crime rate per capita among all states. 10. Alabama Mobile, Alabama. Cavan-Images/Shutterstock Alabama's work-related stress ranked 43rd, its money-related stress ranked sixth, its family-related stress ranked 14th, and its health and safety-related stress ranked 10th.Alabama tied with Louisiana for the state with the highest poverty rate and for the state with the lowest median credit score. 9. Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi. Matt Gush/Shutterstock WalletHub found that Mississippi residents experience the highest ranking of money-related stress, with residents working the fourth-most hours a week and having the lowest credit scores out of any state.Mississippi was ranked 36th in work-related stress, though it ranked fourth-highest in job security.It also ranked 33rd in family-related stress and ninth in health and safety-related stress. 8. Oregon Portland, Oregon. Terelyuk/Shutterstock Oregon ranked 39th in work-related stress, 11th in money-related stress, second in family-related stress, and 12th in health and safety-related stress. 7.

Oklahoma Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Oklahoma's money-related stress and family-related stress were both ranked 10th. Its work-related stress ranked 24th, and its health and safety-related stress ranked eighth. 6.

Nevada Carson City, Nevada. Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock Nevada ranked 31st in work-related stress, eighth in money-related stress, 11th in family-related stress, and fourth in health and safety-related stress.It has the second-highest divorce rate and the fifth-least affordable housing, per the report. 5.

Arkansas Little Rock, Arkansas. E4 PLUS/Shutterstock WalletHub found that Arkansas residents experience the highest amount of health and safety-related stress and the second-highest amount of money-related stress. The state was also ranked 33rd in work-related stress and 25th in family-related stress. 4.

West Virginia Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock West Virginia ranked 13th in work-related stress, fourth in money-related stress, 17th in family-related stress, and third in health and safety-related stress.Per WalletHub's study, the state had the highest percentage of adults who reported being in fair or poor health. 3.

New Mexico Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock New Mexico ranked first in family-related stress, with the highest divorce rate of any state.Its work-related stress ranked 29th, its money-related stress ranked fifth, and its health and safety-related stress ranked 13th, with the highest crime rate per capita, rounding out its placement as the third-most stressful state overall. 2. Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky. Rudy Balasko/Shutterstock Kentucky was found to be the second-most stressful state overall in WalletHub's ranking.It ranked third-highest in work-related stress, seventh-highest in money-related stress, fourth-highest in family-related stress, and sixth-highest in health and safety-related stress.WalletHub's analysis found that Kentucky has the fifth-highest poverty rate and the fourth-highest percentage of adults who self-reported their health as fair or poor. 1. Louisiana Shreveport, Louisiana. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Louisiana was found to have the highest level of work-related stress, in part because it has the lowest job security of any state. Residents also work the second-most hours per week (tied with Texas).Louisiana ranked third in money-related stress. It tied with Alabama for the highest percentage of its population living in poverty.It came in sixth in the ranking of family-related stress, with the third-highest divorce rate of any state.Residents get the fourth-fewest average hours of sleep per night, contributing to its ranking of second in health and safety-related stress.Overall, WalletHub ranked Louisiana as the most stressful state in the US with high rankings across all categories.