The personal finance website WalletHub has released a report that indicates Louisiana is the most stressed-out state in the nation. Bordering states Mississippi took second place and Arkansas placed third. WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzales said forty key metrics were used to calculate the rankings.
“Everything having to do with work, money, family, health and safety. Unfortunately, Louisiana ranked towards the top, which is one of those rankings where you do not want to be toward the top, for a lot of those different things,” said Gonzales.
Louisiana ranks fifth for percent of adults with fair or poor health and sixth for getting adequate sleep. Financially, the state ranks second for the median credit score and third for percent of the population living below the poverty line. Gonzales said these factors can have a snowball effect.
“Whether it’s living from paycheck to paycheck, then stressing you out and not getting enough sleep at night, then going into the workforce, unemployment and underemployment rates. Definitely some cyclical aspects here,” said Gonzales.
Gonzales says the lack of money can lead to stress and Louisiana ranks high in a couple of categories.
“Louisiana has the second lowest average credit score in the country. We also see that it has the third highest percent of the population living in poverty,” said Gonzales.
