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WalletHub: Kentucky considered 5th most stressed state in the U.S.

Stress affects everyone. Although we cannot eliminate stress entirely from our lives, we can minimize it by choosing to reside in the least toxic environments. The good news is stress levels in 2016 reached their lowest point in a decade. The bad news is they’re back on the uptick this year.
During the 10-year period when stress was declining, Americans commonly identified “money, work and the economy” as their biggest sources of worry. Today, however, Americans also report increased anxiety over the election outcome, current political climate, uncertainty of our nation’s future and fear of violence.
But certain states have contributed more than others to elevating — or decreasing — stress levels in the U.S. WalletHub’s analysts therefore compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 33 key indicators of stress to determine the places to avoid and achieve a more relaxing life. Our data set ranges from average hours worked per week to personal bankruptcy rate to share of adults getting adequate sleep. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and our full methodology.
For a more local analysis of this topic, please visit WalletHub’s ranking of the Most & Least Stressed Cities in America.

Most & Least Stressed States

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	‘Work-Related Stress’ Rank	‘Money-Related Stress’ Rank	‘Family-Related Stress’ Rank	‘Health- & Safety-Related Stress’ Rank
1	Alabama	56.91	5	2	5	6
2	Louisiana	56.22	2	9	10	5
3	Mississippi	55.62	18	1	4	7
4	West Virginia	55.43	4	11	24	1
5	Kentucky	54.39	7	7	16	4
6	New Mexico	53.76	3	8	7	19
7	Nevada	52.74	6	20	2	21
8	Georgia	52.10	9	13	3	14
9	Tennessee	51.93	26	5	18	8
10	Arkansas	51.17	44	3	22	2
11	South Carolina	50.46	25	12	13	12
12	Alaska	49.67	1	42	27	13
13	Florida	49.60	16	16	6	22
14	Arizona	48.17	19	18	11	25
15	Oklahoma	47.63	37	28	14	3
16	North Carolina	47.26	14	22	15	30
17	Ohio	45.69	32	26	20	15
18	District of Columbia	45.64	35	14	1	50
19	Indiana	45.64	42	27	19	10
20	Missouri	45.33	38	24	23	11
21	Oregon	45.28	36	4	45	16
22	Michigan	45.19	33	30	21	9
23	California	45.08	10	10	41	42
24	Texas	45.07	17	39	8	20
25	New York	45.06	21	17	33	27
26	Rhode Island	44.85	30	23	31	18
27	Maine	44.09	28	19	46	17
28	Pennsylvania	43.63	22	31	25	24
29	Delaware	42.59	29	37	12	32
30	Virginia	42.14	8	48	17	39
31	Idaho	42.02	46	21	37	26
32	Illinois	41.89	11	35	32	37
33	Maryland	41.55	20	41	9	44
34	Washington	41.53	24	32	34	28
35	Montana	41.33	49	15	44	23
36	Hawaii	40.99	31	6	47	49
37	Massachusetts	40.42	27	34	28	41
38	Wyoming	39.82	13	51	30	29
39	Connecticut	39.52	15	43	38	33
40	Kansas	39.45	23	38	35	40
41	New Jersey	39.32	12	45	39	36
42	Wisconsin	38.41	41	36	36	34
43	Colorado	37.28	47	33	26	45
44	Vermont	36.27	39	25	50	47
45	New Hampshire	35.83	48	47	29	35
46	Nebraska	35.51	40	40	43	43
47	Utah	34.71	50	44	42	31
48	South Dakota	34.41	51	29	49	48
49	Iowa	33.66	45	46	40	46
50	North Dakota	33.16	43	49	51	38
51	Minnesota	31.07	34	50	48	51