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These Are The 10 Stressed Places In Alaska

By Chris Kolmar
Aug. 13, 2016

Find a Job You Really Want In

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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 Alaska 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 Alaska take being stressed to the next level?

It turns out the good people of Houston have earned the dubious distinction of being the most stressed out place in Alaska. The city is at the top of the pack of the 10 most stressed out places in the Last Frontier:

  1. Houston
  2. Meadow Lakes
  3. Palmer
  4. Tanaina
  5. Knik-Fairview
  6. Wasilla
  7. Soldotna
  8. Anchor Point
  9. Lakes
  10. Fairbanks

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

How We Measured Stress In Alaska (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 47 places in Alaska with a population over 2,000 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 47 (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 Last Frontier.

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 47 places we analyzed.

1. Houston

Population: 2,058People With High Rent: 46.8%
People With Long Commute: 49.1%
People Without Insurance: 22.1%

2. Meadow Lakes

Population: 7,139People With High Rent: 53.5%
People With Long Commute: 34.9%
People Without Insurance: 22.6%

3. Palmer

Population: 6,250People With High Rent: 51.1%
People With Long Commute: 40.0%
People Without Insurance: 18.8%

4. Tanaina

Population: 9,391 People With High Rent: 50.6%
People With Long Commute: 43.5%
People Without Insurance: 19.5%

5. Knik-Fairview

Population: 15,797 People With High Rent: 40.7%
People With Long Commute: 55.4%
People Without Insurance: 18.1%

6. Wasilla

Population: 8,406People With High Rent: 48.7%
People With Long Commute: 37.5%
People Without Insurance: 18.5%

7. Soldotna

Population: 4,345People With High Rent: 43.8%
People With Long Commute: 14.3%
People Without Insurance: 18.1%

8. Anchor Point

Population: 2,189 People With High Rent: 47.2%
People With Long Commute: 34.1%
People Without Insurance: 25.3%

9. Lakes

Population: 9,345 People With High Rent: 37.2%
People With Long Commute: 39.8%
People Without Insurance: 16.8%

10. Fairbanks

Population: 32,100People With High Rent: 55.9%
People With Long Commute: 5.5%
People Without Insurance: 15.5%

Detailed List Of Stressed Places In Alaska

City Rank Population People With High Rent People With Long Commute People Without Insurance
Houston 1 2,058 46.8% 49.1% 22.1%
Meadow Lakes 2 7,139 53.5% 34.9% 22.6%
Palmer 3 6,250 51.1% 40.0% 18.8%
Tanaina 4 9,391 50.6% 43.5% 19.5%
Knik-Fairview 5 15,797 40.7% 55.4% 18.1%
Wasilla 6 8,406 48.7% 37.5% 18.5%
Soldotna 7 4,345 43.8% 14.3% 18.1%
Anchor Point 8 2,189 47.2% 34.1% 25.3%
Lakes 9 9,345 37.2% 39.8% 16.8%
Fairbanks 10 32,100 55.9% 5.5% 15.5%
Ketchikan 11 8,173 45.0% 4.5% 22.5%
Kenai 12 7,348 37.4% 5.4% 24.0%
Badger 13 21,175 52.7% 26.9% 15.2%
Homer 14 5,229 49.6% 5.0% 23.9%
Sterling 15 5,748 50.2% 18.7% 16.7%
Butte 16 3,544 37.3% 53.4% 20.4%
Kodiak 17 6,280 44.1% 3.6% 28.0%
Big Lake 18 3,959 35.2% 47.9% 19.3%
Seward 19 2,646 39.5% 4.0% 21.0%
Nome 20 3,745 33.7% 0.8% 23.1%
Kalifornsky 21 7,806 30.9% 19.6% 17.0%
Bear Creek 22 2,399 24.3% 10.7% 23.7%
Kotzebue 23 3,273 20.8% 2.3% 27.3%
Anchorage 24 298,178 44.9% 17.0% 16.3%
Barrow 25 4,296 18.0% 0.2% 30.7%
Ridgeway 26 2,128 22.2% 14.5% 15.5%
Dillingham 27 2,255 31.9% 4.4% 22.7%
North Pole 28 2,153 43.5% 23.0% 8.7%
Nikiski 29 4,536 20.5% 29.3% 19.5%
College 30 14,568 36.9% 10.6% 14.7%
Gateway 31 5,367 36.7% 38.4% 13.1%
Cordova 32 2,637 31.3% 1.7% 30.8%
Chena Ridge 33 5,671 42.6% 26.9% 13.4%
Fishhook 34 5,015 23.3% 37.4% 19.5%
Bethel 35 6,295 30.0% 3.8% 17.5%
Steele Creek 36 6,180 47.3% 15.7% 14.7%
Wrangell 37 2,383 44.5% 2.9% 21.3%
Sitka 38 8,957 44.2% 6.9% 19.7%
Valdez 39 4,002 33.3% 3.5% 13.6%
Eielson AFB 40 2,647 41.2% 9.5% 3.1%
Unalaska 41 4,536 19.6% 0.0% 23.3%
Ester 42 2,653 12.2% 28.7% 14.1%
Farmers Loop 43 4,062 21.6% 9.1% 12.6%
Goldstream 44 3,910 21.5% 32.5% 15.1%
Juneau 45 32,200 40.1% 7.6% 16.2%
Deltana 46 2,122 34.0% 6.8% 16.3%
Prudhoe Bay 47 2,570 0.0% 2.1% 10.3%
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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