Traffic Lands Chicago on "Most Stressful Cities" List
- Article
By Mary Boone
Think life in Chicago is stressful? Researchers say there’s a good chance your friends and neighbors are experiencing those same feelings.
According to a 2012 survey conducted by Sperling's BestPlaces, Chicago is the 16th most stressful city in the nation. The study analyzed a variety of factors associated with stress, including unemployment rate, mental health, poor rest, suicide statistics, commute time, divorce rate, property and violent crime statistics, alcohol use and number of cloudy days.
Chicago’s jam-packed and often slow-moving roadways are largely responsible for its residents’ stress. According to the report, the average Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area commuter drives 35 minutes each way to work; among the survey’s 50 most stressful cities, only New York (41.4) and Washington, D.C., (36.5) had longer average commutes.
Also adding to Chicago’s stressful environment: An unemployment rate of 10.3 percent and a divorce rate of 8.2 percent. The city also reported 413.8 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
Before you start biting your nails or pulling out your hair, consider that Chicago is considerably less stressful than many other U.S. cities. Tampa, Fla., and Las Vegas took honors as the United States’ first and second most stressful metro areas.
It’s interesting to note that five of the top 10 metro areas in the Sperling stress study are located in Florida. Besides Tampa, the survey includes Miami (No. 3), Jacksonville (No. 4), Orlando (No. 6), and West Palm Beach (No. 10).
The 2012 study also revealed the cities with the least stress. It seems folks in Minneapolis are the most carefree. The other least-stressed cities, from No. 2 to No. 10, are: Long Island, NY; Cambridge, MA; San Jose, CA; Washington, DC; Orange County, CA; Virginia Beach; Pittsburgh; Dallas; and Cleveland.
