Why Is Louisiana So Stressed?

According to a new study, Louisiana is one of the most stressed-out states in the country. Many adults blame their stress on work, and the economy, and now 77% of adults blame their stress on the future of the nation. Why is Louisiana so stressed out compared to other states?

Louisiana is The 3rd Most Stressed State

To find out which states are the most and least stressed, researchers collected over 40 data sets from every state to find out what economic, social, and health factors are causing each state the most stress.

Behind New Mexico and Nevada, Louisiana is the third most stressed state in America. Louisiana is in the top five worst for nine of the categories in the study, and the very worst for job security. While work stress definitely adds to the stress of the average Louisiana resident, most of Louisiana's stress comes from the underlying issue of poverty in the state.

Louisiana has the second lowest average credit scores in America, second most number of adults living in poverty, and about 12% of residents have reported being unable to see a doctor due to the costs being too much.

According to the study, Louisiana is so stressed out because of these nine factors:

• 5th fewest psychologists per capita
• 2nd highest crime rate per capita
• 3rd highest divorce rate
• 2nd biggest population in poverty
• 2nd lowest average credit score
• Least job security
• 4th biggest population of adults in poor health
• 4th least for average hours of sleep per night
• 3rd most hours worked each week