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These Are The 10 Most Stressed Places In Alabama

By Chris Kolmar
Apr. 13, 2016

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You know that tight feeling in your chest when you start a new job? That’s stress.

And there are certain places in Alabama that have more to stress out about then just their first day at work.

There are things like dealing with ever-longer commutes, working longer and longer hours, and just trying to find a job in the first place. But which places in Alabama take being stressed to the next level?

It turns out the good people of Prichard have earned the dubious distinction of being the most stressed out place in Alabama. The city is at the top of the pack of the 10 most stressed out places in the Heart of Dixie:

  1. Prichard
  2. Chickasaw
  3. Center Point
  4. Midfield
  5. Bessemer
  6. Birmingham
  7. Selma
  8. Lanett
  9. Robertsdale
  10. Russellville

Read on to see why these places in Alabama could use a Xanax.

How We Measured Stress In Alabama (Without Stressing Out)

In order to measure stress, we selected a set of six criteria that reflect its root causes for most people and used them to look at the 105 places in Alabama with a population over 5,000 according to the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

  1. Percentage of population with a long commute (over 30 minutes)
  2. Unemployment Rate
  3. Hours worked
  4. Population density
  5. Percentage of income spent on rent
  6. Percentage of population without health insurance

The higher any of these was, the more stressful the people of the place are.

Our data is from the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey for 2010-2014.

We ranked each place from 1 to 105 (with one being the most stressed side of the scale) in the six individual criteria. These ranks were then averaged into a Stress Score, the lowest of which was the most stressed out place in the Heart of Dixie.

Below, we’ll take a look at the standout stress stats for each top 10 most stressed places, and wrap the whole thing up with a detailed ranking of all 105 places we analyzed.

1. Prichard

Population: 22,475 People With High Rent: 51.9%
People With Long Commute: 32.9%
People Without Insurance: 22.3%

2. Chickasaw

Population: 6,026People With High Rent: 67.8%
People With Long Commute: 30.7%
People Without Insurance: 18.9%

3. Center Point

Population: 16,876People With High Rent: 62.9%
People With Long Commute: 41.5%
People Without Insurance: 15.2%

4. Midfield

Population: 5,319People With High Rent: 60.3%
People With Long Commute: 34.2%
People Without Insurance: 15.0%

5. Bessemer

Population: 27,202People With High Rent: 53.5%
People With Long Commute: 34.7%
People Without Insurance: 17.3%

6. Birmingham

Population: 211,705People With High Rent: 53.1%
People With Long Commute: 25.3%
People Without Insurance: 17.1%

7. Selma

Population: 20,276People With High Rent: 55.9%
People With Long Commute: 15.1%
People Without Insurance: 17.0%

8. Lanett

Population: 6,455People With High Rent: 53.3%
People With Long Commute: 22.6%
People Without Insurance: 16.7%

9. Robertsdale

Population: 5,556People With High Rent: 49.7%
People With Long Commute: 40.9%
People Without Insurance: 23.3%

10. Russellville

Population: 9,836People With High Rent: 43.6%
People With Long Commute: 39.3%
People Without Insurance: 23.4%

Detailed List Of Stressed Places In Alabama

City Rank Population People With High Rent People With Long Commute People Without Insurance
Prichard 1 22,475 51.9% 32.9% 22.3%
Chickasaw 2 6,026 67.8% 30.7% 18.9%
Center Point 3 16,876 62.9% 41.5% 15.2%
Midfield 4 5,319 60.3% 34.2% 15.0%
Bessemer 5 27,202 53.5% 34.7% 17.3%
Birmingham 6 211,705 53.1% 25.3% 17.1%
Selma 7 20,276 55.9% 15.1% 17.0%
Lanett 8 6,455 53.3% 22.6% 16.7%
Robertsdale 9 5,556 49.7% 40.9% 23.3%
Russellville 10 9,836 43.6% 39.3% 23.4%
Tarrant 11 6,331 42.8% 26.9% 24.9%
Phenix City 12 35,753 46.6% 27.2% 16.8%
Jacksonville 13 12,416 60.4% 29.2% 11.0%
Mobile 14 194,942 51.8% 22.7% 15.7%
Montevallo 15 6,470 59.8% 39.8% 15.3%
Brewton 16 5,426 59.0% 22.6% 18.9%
Fairfield 17 11,039 49.1% 32.6% 11.2%
Gadsden 18 36,621 47.8% 20.4% 17.8%
Clanton 19 8,672 47.7% 42.8% 15.9%
Valley 20 9,456 49.2% 29.9% 16.6%
Hueytown 21 15,956 45.4% 41.7% 15.1%
Childersburg 22 5,117 62.0% 28.3% 12.6%
Foley 23 15,428 60.8% 24.3% 14.2%
Atmore 24 10,096 39.7% 22.6% 22.4%
Bay Minette 25 8,682 47.5% 33.3% 15.2%
Gulf Shores 26 10,523 46.4% 20.7% 17.8%
Talladega 27 16,034 42.5% 20.4% 16.4%
Attalla 28 5,995 36.1% 14.8% 23.4%
Decatur 29 55,641 40.1% 27.4% 17.3%
Alabaster 30 30,978 40.5% 52.2% 14.2%
Monroeville 31 6,343 51.4% 20.3% 13.6%
Wetumpka 32 7,136 32.1% 49.0% 14.2%
Jasper 33 14,247 51.1% 27.7% 13.8%
Hartselle 34 14,393 36.6% 41.4% 9.9%
Pell City 35 13,128 43.0% 39.5% 11.6%
Smiths Station 36 5,095 59.6% 29.8% 11.2%
Clay 37 9,699 48.3% 46.0% 8.0%
Arab 38 8,241 41.7% 41.9% 12.1%
Tuscumbia 39 8,565 52.7% 17.2% 10.6%
Sylacauga 40 12,786 42.1% 29.8% 11.6%
Pinson 41 7,141 42.0% 48.5% 11.0%
Tuskegee 42 9,435 44.4% 24.4% 12.7%
Anniston 43 22,749 43.5% 20.3% 15.5%
Orange Beach 44 5,629 53.8% 23.4% 16.6%
Rainbow City 45 9,623 51.4% 29.1% 14.7%
Oneonta 46 6,623 30.8% 45.4% 16.0%
Roanoke 47 6,013 47.4% 44.6% 11.8%
Boaz 48 9,781 41.2% 18.4% 16.7%
Cullman 49 14,933 45.3% 28.8% 15.6%
Huntsville 50 184,132 46.6% 15.1% 14.9%
Alexander City 51 14,815 44.6% 24.0% 16.5%
Montgomery 52 204,095 50.2% 15.3% 14.0%
Greenville 53 7,974 52.0% 26.7% 11.4%
Athens 54 23,335 42.2% 35.2% 13.3%
Leeds 55 12,063 50.5% 43.2% 9.1%
Sheffield 56 9,067 47.7% 13.7% 14.3%
Tuscaloosa 57 93,325 54.4% 13.3% 13.1%
Fairhope 58 16,661 48.0% 34.6% 9.9%
Irondale 59 12,399 35.6% 28.3% 15.0%
Tallassee 60 5,011 34.1% 37.2% 12.8%
Guntersville 61 8,316 44.1% 22.9% 15.9%
Glencoe 62 5,137 42.2% 25.5% 15.2%
Prattville 63 34,349 46.2% 31.8% 9.8%
Andalusia 64 9,048 47.4% 15.8% 14.4%
Oxford 65 21,250 34.5% 18.2% 14.4%
Jackson 66 5,116 39.9% 20.8% 16.4%
Daphne 67 22,983 37.8% 36.7% 9.2%
Opp 68 6,675 46.5% 22.8% 14.0%
Albertville 69 21,363 40.4% 18.0% 23.1%
Helena 70 16,752 38.7% 57.8% 4.0%
Eufaula 71 12,897 42.4% 26.3% 14.4%
Hoover 72 82,849 43.2% 29.2% 8.2%
Calera 73 12,376 32.2% 57.8% 10.6%
Spanish Fort 74 7,357 49.2% 35.2% 15.8%
Florence 75 39,738 48.4% 12.9% 12.5%
Dothan 76 67,574 44.4% 19.7% 13.3%
Troy 77 18,636 55.8% 13.9% 10.5%
Saraland 78 13,657 43.0% 25.5% 11.3%
Daleville 79 5,233 36.6% 18.0% 16.6%
Fort Payne 80 14,115 34.9% 16.2% 22.6%
Opelika 81 27,956 51.4% 16.6% 14.3%
Auburn 82 56,986 59.6% 15.5% 7.9%
Millbrook 83 14,858 37.5% 35.8% 8.6%
Pleasant Grove 84 10,230 25.7% 40.1% 7.9%
Pelham 85 22,106 32.2% 42.3% 10.4%
Hamilton 86 6,842 44.0% 26.1% 12.9%
Ozark 87 14,835 42.1% 25.1% 11.4%
Muscle Shoals 88 13,380 44.1% 23.4% 7.0%
Satsuma 89 6,145 28.0% 39.6% 7.8%
Vestavia Hills 90 34,061 50.4% 17.5% 3.0%
Enterprise 91 27,375 42.2% 14.7% 12.0%
Chelsea 92 11,051 32.6% 57.4% 6.5%
Demopolis 93 7,323 42.3% 17.4% 9.7%
Trussville 94 20,229 28.8% 42.6% 3.9%
Homewood 95 25,420 42.5% 12.8% 10.1%
Lincoln 96 6,321 28.7% 39.1% 11.1%
Moody 97 12,124 36.7% 41.2% 4.8%
Fultondale 98 8,593 35.2% 23.4% 12.5%
Gardendale 99 13,809 39.9% 36.1% 5.2%
Pike Road 100 6,605 68.5% 29.4% 3.6%
Northport 101 24,092 40.5% 14.5% 7.7%
Scottsboro 102 14,779 34.3% 23.4% 12.3%
Madison 103 44,866 32.2% 15.5% 7.3%
Southside 104 8,432 34.3% 29.6% 10.2%
Mountain Brook 105 20,484 23.5% 10.3% 1.5%
Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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