Michigan City Claims Title of Most Stressed in the Nation
In celebration of National Relaxation Day on August 15, LawnStarter has unveiled its rankings of the Most Relaxed Cities in the United States. They evaluated the stress levels and stress-relief factors in the 200 largest cities. This included factors like depression rates, workday length, and access to relaxing amenities like spas and massage therapists.
More relaxed? More like super stressed!
Taking the lead as the Most Stressed City in the nation among these 200 metropolitan areas is Detroit. It’s ranked at the very bottom of their list. According to the website, it’s due to the city’s struggles with population and economic decline over the past 60 years. It scored poorly in areas like financial well-being, environmental stressors, and physical well-being. However, it has fewer work stressors and more recreation options compared to other cities.
On a national scale, the data exposed a higher demand for mental health services in cities like West Valley City, Utah; Laredo, Texas; North Las Vegas, Nevada; and Moreno Valley, California. Residents in these areas are grappling with elevated levels of mental distress, depression, and, except for Laredo, suicide.
The study also highlights that among the 200 largest cities, Detroit has the highest rates of insufficient sleep and stroke occurrences. Among the other top ten Most Stressed Cities are Shreveport, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Jackson, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Killeen, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; Augusta, Georgia; and Birmingham, Alabama.
Most relaxed cities in the nation
Meanwhile, the list of the top 10 Most Relaxed Cities in the nation features five from sunny California: Sunnyvale (ranked 1st), San Francisco (ranked 2nd), Fremont (ranked 5th), San Jose (ranked 6th), and Irvine (ranked 10th). Other cities on this list include Alexandria, Virginia (ranked 3rd); Naperville, Illinois (ranked 4th); Seattle, Washington (ranked 7th); Overland Park, Kansas (ranked 8th); and Bellevue, Washington (ranked 9th). Being near water, in cannabis-friendly states, and having sunny weather seem to contribute to relaxation.
Interestingly, cities like Sunnyvale and San Jose maintain relaxation despite limited mental health resources, reporting fewer “off” days, less mental stress, and reduced depression.
You can dive deeper into this study here.