The Great American Stress-Off: Which State Takes the Crown? | Wealth of Geeks

Between ideological division, rampant inflation, and endless questions about the country’s future, The United States of America has become the United Stressed of America. One study has identified 14 states with the highest percentage of stressed-out individuals, and they may not be the states you’d expect.

The study cited measured stress-related Google search terms (like “stress-relief techniques”), searches for Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), movement in housing prices, unemployment rates, average household incomes, commute times, and percentage of insured citizens 

1. Nevada

You might think that Nevadans are the most stressed-out constituency in America because they’re deep into the casinos, but it’s not that simple. High unemployment rates are most to blame for Nevadans’ hand-wringing, as there is a higher percentage of out-of-work Nevadans than in any other state.

Hey, at least they have the slots. 

2. Texas

The mass migration to Texas has undoubtedly made life more expensive for natives and newcomers alike, contributing to higher rents, higher home prices, and higher stress. Yet, the study’s commissioners cite a widespread lack of health insurance for residents aged 65 and under as the leading reason for Texas-sized stress.

3. Georgia

Things have never been chill in Georgia since the devil went down there lookin’ for a soul to steal. Today, though, Georgians are Googling terms like “meditation” more often than Eckhart Tolle. 14.7% of Georgians also lack health insurance, which puts them in a deadly spiral—being uninsured causes stress, health problems, more worry, and so on.

4. California

If you read the news, your dreams of moving to a beachside apartment in Santa Monica or living on San Francisco’s postcard row evaporated long ago. Sky-high unemployment is apparent in cities where sidewalks double as campgrounds. The exorbitant cost of housing in California has led even the rich and famous to flee the Golden State.

5. Arizona 

Arizona’s residents have Googled “HELOC”—Home Equity Line of Credit—more often than residents in 40 other states. Some take this data to mean Arizonans are strapped for cash. Honestly, though, isn’t the possibility of your air conditioner succumbing to the Arizona heat enough to be stressed about?

6. Florida

The postcards show year-round sunshine, yachts sailing through Biscayne Bay, and endless tangerine fields. Zoom into the modern Floridian reality, and you’ll see a never-ending stream of New York transplants, humidity that makes the manatees beg for air, and costs of living that have risen faster than the sugar cane stalks near Lake Okeechobee. 

High rates of uninsured individuals and rising housing prices are the two greatest reasons why Floridians are more stressed than a mother of seven at the Magic Kingdom.

7. North Carolina

North Carolina is a state you might not expect to find on this list—temperate weather, first-class nature, what’s to be stressed about?

Apparently, nine out of every 100 people in North Carolina regularly search for “depression.” This fact qualifies the Tar Heel State for a spot on the list of most burnt-out states.

8. Washington

The rainfall in Washington has always been a huge bummer, so much so that an entire musical genre (grunge) became an audible ode to the state’s weather-induced depression.

Not much has changed on that front. Only now, residents’ home values are imploding as the skies remain gray and dreary. That’s not a recipe for, well, nirvana. 

9. New York

Eroding home values, cost of living that has even the Rockefeller family tightening their belts, and the highest commute times in the nation have New Yorkers packing up and moving to Florida—where, this data indicates, they’ll be even more miserable.

10. Colorado 

Colorado did much better as a hidden gem than it has fared as an unhidden gem. 

The fresh powder, mountain air, and granola-fueled lifestyle have become fodder for the masses. Native Coloradans have never been more bummed about resulting traffic and rising housing prices.

11. Illinois

Those who live outside of Chicago have to deal with out-of-control spending by legislators, leading to unreasonably high taxation (never fun), deteriorating infrastructure (the big cities get all the attention), and lots of Google searches for “stress relief.” 

Those in Chicago have lots of modern amenities and culinary variety, but also the stress of living in Chicago.

12. New Jersey

Where to live in New Jersey? Princeton is expensive, as are Bergen County and Ocean County. Newark, Camden, and many other cities are no-go zones. Wherever you choose, you’ll pay some of the highest tax rates in the nation, and you’ll likely have too small a plot of land to play hopscotch in. 

13. Hawaii 

Hawaii is one of those states that is too good to be true. Its cinematic level of natural beauty long ago attracted the deep-pocketed crowd, sending land values skyrocketing. Plus, the need to import most goods by boat or plane further contributes to high living costs. 

The recent tragedies in Maui have only caused more heartbreak in a state already filled with stressed-out people. Those fighting to keep their beloved land from development, commercialization, and wholesale purchase by the A-list crowd have been dealt yet another blow.

14. Tennessee

Nashville is likely the source of Tennessee’s spot on this list, as the mass migration to Music City has made a once-underrated tourist town into an overpriced carnival. Critics pose a bleak picture: you rent and pay through the nose, hang onto your home and deal with the Nashville madness, or sell and find peace elsewhere.

15. Virginia

While Washington, D.C., is its own entity, the madness of the nation’s capital spills over into Virginia. With no shortage of high-cost municipalities, treacherous interstates bursting with commuters, and the residual stress of being in D.C.’s orbit, Virginians could use a massage.