High stress goes hand in hand with anxiety, depression, and a host of other downers that pretty much add up to a poor quality of life.

And while anything from a bad work review to a scary news report can amp up your stress levels on a given day, there are a host of big-picture factors that tend to create a more or less mellow life. Depending where you live, you might experience greater job insecurity, crime, and health issues, for example.

Using 40 key indicators of stress, ranging from hours worked per week to adult sleeping habits, personal finance site Wallethub investigated all fifty states to see which were the most put upon.

The indicators fell into four major categories, from work stress to financial troubles to family issues to health-and-safety problems. Everything from suicides rates to commute times were factored into the final results.

The top 10 most stressed states

1.Louisiana. Earning the dubious title of most stressed-out state in America, The Pelican State has risen from its 2018 position as second most stressed state. Louisiana ranks 5th in both average hours worked per week and percent of unhealthy employees, not to mention low credit scores and some of the highest crime rates per capita.

2. Mississippi. Playing runner up to Louisiana, the birthplace of Elvis and Britney Spears has the highest poverty-stricken population in the nation. Mississippians also has the highest percentage of ailing adults, and the lowest credit scores.

3. Arkansas. Crime rates run high in Arkansas, and it’s got some of the fewest psychologists per capita to boot. But at least Arkansas has Hot Springs National Park. 

4. Kentucky. Looks like Kentuckians just aren’t getting those required eight hours of shut-eye: the state ranked third in fewest average hours of sleep per night.

5. West Virginia. With more than its fair share of unhealthy, sleepless adults, West Virginia scored off the charts for family related stress.

6. New Mexico. Most New Mexicans seem more worried about their health and safety than anything else. That makes sense, considering they’ve got the highest crime rate per capita of all fifty states, not to mention a pretty high divorce rate as well. 

7. Alabama. Alabamians are worrying a lot about work, and they’ve also got the third lowest credit scores in America to worry about. Plus, the Yellowhammer State isn’t equipped with enough psychologists to deal with all this: It ranks second in having the least psychologists per capita.

8. Nevada. People love to get married in Las Vegas, but they love to split up too: The state has the highest divorce rate in in America. Nevada residents have some of the lowest credit scores, too, adding to overall stress.

9. Alaska. Alaskans have a high crime rate and low job security, but the biggest stressor Alaskans must contend with is the amount of hours they work each week. The average Alaskan works more hours per week than anyone else in America.

10. Oklahoma. Despite Oklahoma’s 50 state parks and six national parks, quality of life in the Sooner State isn’t the greatest. Oklahomans worry the most about work, money, their families and their health, in that order.

How stressful is your state?

Here is the rest of the list, from next most to least stressed.

11. Florida

12. Arizona

13. Tennessee

14. South Carolina

15. Georgia

16. North Carolina

17. Indiana

18. Oregon

19. Ohio

20. Michigan

21. New York

22. Texas

23. Rhode Island

24. Illinois

25. Missouri

26. Pennsylvania

27. Delaware

28. California

29. Maine

30. Connecticut

31. Wyoming

32. Virginia

33. Nebraska

34. New Jersey

35. Washington

36. Vermont

37. Idaho

38. Colorado

39. Maryland

40. Kansas

41. Montana

42. Hawaii

43. Wisconsin

44. New Hampshire

45. Iowa

46. South Dakota

47. North Dakota

48. Massachusetts

49. Utah

50. Minnesota

•April 4, 2019