Simplistic Study: People In Iowa Aren’t Stressed

Ahh, another day, another wack study. Sometimes these studies have, at the very least, an air of legitimacy to them. This one, not so much - in my opinion.

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This study from WalletHub looks at the most and least stressed U.S. states. It uses metrics, which I'll share with you, to determine that Iowa and its fellow Midwestern states, don't experience a great deal of stress when compared to other states in the United States.

So, where do we rank? First off, let's look at the top ten most stressed according to WalletHub:

• Louisiana
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• West Virginia
• Mississippi
• Arkansas
• Oklahoma
• Alabama
• Texas
• Tennessee

So we have mainly southern states here. Zero Midwestern, and zero northeaster or western.

Where does that leave Iowa?

We're the 40th stressed state out of, obviously, 50. And, we're in good company with our fellow Midwestern brethren. The least stressed states, according to the study, are:

• Iowa
• Utah
• Minnesota
• South Dakota
• Wisconsin
• New Hampshire
• Hawaii (DUH!)
• North Dakota
• Massachusetts
• Nebraska
• New Jersey

Illinois finished 37th and Missouri 29th.

Alllllrighty. Let's dig into the metrics. The all-important metrics. We need to see how a state, so dependent on the success of its farmers, the weather, and ag in general, can be so... not stressed out all the time.

The metrics used and Iowas rankings (1= most stressed, 50 = least) are:

• Work-Related Stress: 20
• Money-Related Stress: 44
• Family-Related Stress: 45
• Heath & Saftey-Related Stress: 30

This means Iowans are not as concerned about cash and have less family stress. Again, according to the study.

Want a second opinion? THIS study from December 2021 flips the WalletHub study on its head. From Augusta CEO, the study has Hawaii as the MOST stressful. It has Iowa at 24th, putting us in the bottom 50% for stress, but significantly higher than the WalletHub study.

What do you think? This is one of those studies where, unless you've lived in lotta places, it's impossible to really know how accurate it is.