The Portland, OR-based group that produces the BestPlaces web site has published its 2004 survey ranking America's most-stressed cities. They rank Tacoma the worst. Considering that Houston is the 4th largest city in the country, it's pretty good that we only rank #13 on this list. Overachievement!
Between international terrorism and a struggling economy, today's Americans are faced with more stress than ever. In this new study, America's favorite research gurus at Sperling's BestPlaces have identified the most and least stressful U.S. cities.Posted by Alan at January 11, 2004 01:14 PMWhich U.S. cities provide an environment that can help make our life more relaxed and enjoyable? Are there certain U.S. cities where residents regularly face particularly stressful conditions?
Our "Sperling Stress Index" is comprised of nine different factors which are associated with stress: unemployment rate, divorce rate, commute time, violent and property crime rates, suicide rate, alcohol consumption, self-reported "poor mental health", and number of cloudy days.
20 Largest Metro Areas
(Ranked in order from most stressful to least stressful)1 - Tacoma, WA
2 - Miami, FL
3 - New Orleans, LA
4 - Las Vegas, NV-AZ
5 - New York, NY
6 - Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA
7 - Mobile, AL
8 - Stockton-Lodi, CA
9 - Detroit, MI
10 - Dallas, TX
11 - Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
12 - West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL
13 - Houston, TX
14 - Fort Lauderdale, FL
15 - Riverside-San Bernardino, CA
16 - St. Louis, MO-IL
17 - Denver, CO
18 - Jacksonville, FL
19 - Jersey City, NJ
20 - Phoenix-Mesa, AZ