Methodology

To create the list, WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities, including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, as well as at least two of the most populated cities in each state. The cities were evaluated using 39 metrics across four dimensions:

• Work stress, which includes average weekly work hours, job security, average commute time, and unemployment rate
• Financial stress, which includes median annual household income, foreclosure rate, personal bankruptcy rate, and food insecurity
• Family stress, which includes separation and divorce rate, share of single-parent households, and childcare costs
• Health and safety stress, which includes the share of adults in fair or poor health, mental health, physical activity rate, and crime rate

Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest levels of stress. A weighted average across all metrics was used to determine a city's overall score, and these scores were used to rank-order all the cities.

The most (and least) stressed US cities

According to WalletHub, the 10 most stressed U.S. cities were:

1. Detroit, MI (Score: 62.78)
2. Baltimore, MD (Score: 59.73)
3. Cleveland, OH (Score: 59.35)
4. Memphis, TN (Score: 59.24)
5. Shreveport, LA (Score: 57.75)
6. Gulfport, MS (Score: 56.9)
7. Philadelphia, PA (Score: 56.61)
8. ackson, MS (Score: 56.03)
9. Akron, OH (Score: 55.14)
10. St. Louis, MO (Score: 54.6)

WalletHub also ranked the cities on several different metrics:

• Health: San Antonio, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Brownsville, Texas, had the highest percentage of adults in fair/poor health, while Cheyenne, Wyoming, had the lowest percentage.
• Sleep: Detroit, Michigan, had the lowest average hours of sleep per night while South Burlington, Vermont, had the highest average hours.
• Housing: New York City, New York, had the least affordable housing while Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had the most affordable housing.
• Work hours: Cheyenne, Wyoming, had the highest average weekly work hours while Burlington, Vermont, had the lowest average hours. 

Some ways leaders can do this include protecting personal time, giving employees greater control over their workflows, and detecting burnout before it becomes a crisis.

When it comes to managing financial stress, Alisia Tran, an associate professor of counseling and counseling psychology at Arizona State University, recommends starting small to increase your chances of making sustainable changes and succeeding.

"Adopt a success-driven approach by choosing feasible goals and actions that reward your efforts with quick and frequent results," Tran said. For example, saving an extra $20 a week could be a good initial goal that can be built upon over time.

Similarly, Stuart Sidle, dean and a professor at the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Mercy University, recommends people "[s]tart by setting small achievable goals, such as opening a specific account and learning key retirement account terminology." He added that people should also "take the time to celebrate … progress and recognize the completion of these small goals."

Finally, Cassandra Chaney, a J. Franklin Bayhi Endowed Professor at Louisiana State University, noted that "many of the most effective stress-reduction strategies are free or low-cost." Physical activity, mindfulness practices, and social interaction are all low-cost, effective ways to relieve stress and improve well-being.