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By Joe Edwards
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A recent report from WalletHub identified Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore as America's most stressed cities.
The study compared 182 urban areas using 39 metrics, evaluating not just financial anxiety but also factors such as work, family dynamics and health and safety concerns.
How It Was Calculated
The WalletHub researchers evaluated 182 U.S. cities based on four main factors: Work Stress, Financial Stress, Family Stress, and Health & Safety Stress. Key indicators included average weekly work hours, local job security, cost-adjusted median household income, divorce rates, and health markers such as adult obesity prevalence.
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Scores for each city were calculated on a 100-point scale, enabling WalletHub to compare cities and identify which locations faced the greatest and least challenges related to stress.
What To Know
Detroit ranked as the most stressed city in the 2025 study. With an unemployment rate of 11.4 percent, the city also reported a median household income of around $38,000 after cost-of-living adjustments and a poverty rate of 31.5 percent.
The study also noted that the city had one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, as well as the second-highest separation and divorce rate.
Cleveland took second place as the most stressed city due to a combination of low adjusted median household income (under $43,000), high foreclosure and poverty rates, and the highest separation and divorce rates among the surveyed cities.
Health and safety issues further added to Cleveland's stress burden, with more than 22 percent of adults reporting 14 or more "mentally unhealthy" days per month.
Coming in third was Baltimore. Residents in city the encounter expensive rent, WalletHub said—taking up about 40 percent of median household income for a two-bedroom apartment—and many are affected by underwater mortgages.
The city also experiences significant violent crime rates, having the sixth-most mass shootings between March 2020 and March 2025, the report said.
Conversely, South Burlington in Vermont, Fremont in California, and Sioux Falls in South Dakota were ranked as the three least stressful cities.
What People Are Saying
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo told Newsweek: "The three least stressed cities: Fremont, CA (rank 182), South Burlington, VT (rank 181), and Sioux Falls, SD (rank 180) were ranked lowest in stress because they consistently ranked higher across the four stress-related dimensions: work stress, financial stress, family stress, and health & safety stress.
"For example, Fremont ranks fairly high in work stress (21), but fares much better in all other categories, resulting in a low overall stress score. South Burlington and Sioux Falls also registered strong rankings in all the key categories to secure their place among the lowest stress levels compared to other cities."
Lupo said in the report: "Some stress is out of our control, due to issues with family, friends or employers. However, where you live can play a big role in how stressed you are. Cities with high crime rates, weak economies, less effective public health and congested transportation systems naturally lead to elevated stress levels for residents. When moving, it's important to consider how a certain city may impact your mental health – not just your financial opportunities."
What Happens Next
WalletHub releases its report on the most and least stressed cities in the U.S. annually.
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