Houston ranked third most stressful metro

Las Vegas tops list

Jon Boyd, Aug 19, 10.

Francesca Levy of Forbes Magazine summarizes her method for ranking cities according to stress factors, “we measured the 40 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the US on six metrics that either cause or are caused by stress: high unemployment, long commute times, long work hours, limited access to health care, poor physical health and a lack of exercise. Ahead, cities where stress is through the roof.” 

Houston ranks third on this list, trailing only Las Vegas and Los Angeles, according to the Forbes article:

The economy in Houston, Texas, is relatively healthy—unemployment is below the national average—but prosperity may come at a price. Houstonians work the longest hours of any city we ranked; an average of 41.2 hours per week.

Furthermore, that toil isn’t always rewarded with a solid insurance package—the city also has the highest percentage of people without any type of health care, at 25%. Grueling work hours can add to anxiety and a lack of health care means that stress-related illnesses will go untreated.

In many cities, stress is the price locals pay for other advantages. In Houston, for example, workers may burn the midnight oil, but they are rewarded for it with median household incomes of $54,811 annually, 4.8% higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Census.

Here is the breakdown for Houston:
High Unemployment Rank: 26
Long Commute Times Rank: 10,
Long Working Hours Rank: 1
Limited Health Care Rank: 1
Poor Physical Health Rank: 5
Limited Exercise Rank: 11

Houston ranked worst in two categories, the other “leaders” are:
High Unemployment Rank: Las Vegas
Long Commute Times Rank: New York
Poor Physical Health Rank: Los Angeles
Limited Exercise Rank: Las Vegas

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