Louisiana ranks 5th most stressed state
20th January 2026 · 0 Comments
By Michael Patrick Welch
Contributing Writer
A new study, conducted by experts at Burning Daily, a company selling hemp-based products, analyzed 2023 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), examining adults who reported that their mental or physical health was “not good” for 14 or more days in the past month.
According to the findings, Louisiana ranked fifth among the most stressed states in the U.S., reporting higher overall stress levels than neighboring Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.
The CDC reports that nationwide, 12.1 percent of adults ages 18 and older experience regular feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxiety, while 4.8 percent report regular feelings of depression. In addition, the U.S. recorded 49,316 suicide deaths, underscoring the ongoing mental health crisis across the country.
Burning Daily’s study assigned each state a combined stress score based on reported levels of both mental and physical distress.
West Virginia ranked as the most stressed state, with 22.0 percent of adults experiencing frequent mental distress and 18.4 percent reporting frequent physical distress, resulting in the highest possible stress index score of 10.00. Nevada ranked second with a stress score of 7.70, followed by Arkansas in third place with a score of 6.97. Tennessee placed fourth, reporting that 19.6 percent of adults experienced frequent mental distress, while 15.4 percent reported physical distress.
Rounding out the top five was Louisiana, with a total stress score of 6.07. In the state, 18.7 percent of adults reported frequent mental distress, while 14.7 percent reported frequent physical distress.
Louisiana’s high stress ranking aligns with previous findings – and more recent statistics have Louisiana closer to the top of the list. In March 2025, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 40 key stress indicators, including average commute times, hours worked per week, housing affordability, bankruptcy rates and health and safety concerns.
“WalletHub took our information from the Census Bureau, Department of Labor, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),” said Chip Lupo, a writer and analyst at WalletHub. “We typically try to utilize a combo of government info and stats from thinktanks, to make our annual study on stress as well rounded as we can.”
As such, said Lupo, “Our 2025 study ranked Louisiana as the third most stressed state, with a score of 56.21 percent.”
Previously, in 2020, WalletHub ranked Louisiana as the most stressed state in the nation. WalletHub cited challenges such as overwork, health and safety concerns, lack of sleep, high divorce rates and financial stress as contributing factors to Louisiana’s ongoing stress levels.
“Low minimum wage is a huge reason Louisiana is where it is,” said Lupo. “The medium income is low, and underemployment rates are high – underemployment meaning you’re working a grade or two below your qualifications, or you’re working multiple part-time jobs instead of one good full-time job. And then of course poor economies create violent cultures, and poor schools. So Louisiana isn’t doing too good.”
To help mitigate stress, The Law Firm of J. Antonio Tramontana encourages Louisiana residents to take advantage of available support systems. These include low-cost mental health clinics, community wellness programs and financial counseling services. Employers can also play a role by offering flexible schedules, employee assistance programs and, of course, better wages.
“As a personal finance website, we hope to help consumers find the best loans, credit cards, and then we do these demographic related studies to give people an idea if they want to move somewhere,” added WalletHub’s Lupo. “Poor folks can take a look at our studies and see what the least stressed states are doing, and then either move there, or maybe lobby to do things in their state that will get them out of the top five of these stress rankings.”
Additional stress-management strategies include spending time with pets, connecting with family and children, laughing, planning ahead, maintaining financial discipline, avoiding over-scheduling and prioritizing both physical and mental self-care.
This article originally published in the January 19, 2026 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
