Birmingham Ranked One Of The Most Stressed Cities In U.S.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Stress is the cause of some of the most harmful health issues in the world, and each year, billions of dollars are spent on stress-related health issues. Whether it is work-related stress, financial stress, social stress or another source, it is a real health issue, and unfortunately for Birmingham, the Magic City ranked as one of the most stressed cities in the entire country.

In the U.S., stress affects more than 100 million people. The leading causes? Money tops the list, followed by work, family and relationships. By one estimate, workplace-related stress alone costs society more than $300 billion per year.

The personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on 2019's Most & Least Stressed Cities in America and Birmingham ranked as the 8th most stressed city in the country.

In order to determine where Americans cope best with their stress, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 39 key metrics. The data set ranges from average weekly work hours to debt load to divorce and suicide rates.

Stress Levels in Birmingham (1=Most Stressed; 91=Avg.):

• 93rd – Avg. Weekly Hours Worked
• 73rd – Traffic Congestion
• 13th – Poverty Rate
• 3rd – Divorce Rate
• 33rd – % of Adults in Fair/Poor Health
• 15th – % of Adults with Inadequate Sleep

The 10 most stressed cities in the country are:

1. Detroit, MI
2. Cleveland, OH
3. Newark, NJ
4. Baltimore, MD
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. St. Louis, MO
7. Cincinnati, OH
8. Birmingham, AL
9. Wilmington, DE
10. Shreveport, LA

The full report can be found here.