These Are The 10 Stressed Places In Maine

.street-view{width:100%;height:300px;pointer-events:none;}

Swipe left for slideshow. Article continues below.

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

And there are certain places in Maine 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 Maine take being stressed to the next level?

It turns out the good people of Berwick have earned the dubious distinction of being the most stressed out place in Maine. The city is at the top of the pack of the 10 most stressed out places in the Pine Tree State:

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

For more ME reading, check out:

How We Measured Stress In Maine (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 66 places in Maine with a population over 2,000 according to the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

Percentage of population with a long commute (over 30 minutes)
Unemployment Rate
Hours worked
Population density
Percentage of income spent on rent
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 66 (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 Pine Tree State.

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 66 places we analyzed.

1. Berwick

Population: 2,048 People With High Rent: 94.4%
People With Long Commute: 31.0%
People Without Insurance: 8.1%

2. Richmond

Population: 2,034 People With High Rent: 59.0%
People With Long Commute: 63.9%
People Without Insurance: 12.7%

3. South Paris

Population: 2,906People With High Rent: 57.9%
People With Long Commute: 51.6%
People Without Insurance: 10.4%

4. Ellsworth

Population: 7,804People With High Rent: 64.0%
People With Long Commute: 31.7%
People Without Insurance: 15.2%

5. Fairfield

Population: 2,773 People With High Rent: 51.0%
People With Long Commute: 27.8%
People Without Insurance: 10.7%

6. Farmington

Population: 4,142 People With High Rent: 64.0%
People With Long Commute: 17.2%
People Without Insurance: 11.1%

7. Old Orchard Beach

Population: 8,679People With High Rent: 37.4%
People With Long Commute: 34.7%
People Without Insurance: 11.4%

8. Lewiston

Population: 36,410People With High Rent: 49.7%
People With Long Commute: 21.9%
People Without Insurance: 10.6%

9. Lisbon Falls

Population: 4,135 People With High Rent: 38.0%
People With Long Commute: 37.0%
People Without Insurance: 15.0%

10. Waterville

Population: 15,886People With High Rent: 57.2%
People With Long Commute: 16.5%
People Without Insurance: 8.8%

Detailed List Of Stressed Places In Maine

City	Rank	Population	People With High Rent	People With Long Commute	People Without Insurance
Berwick	1	2,048	94.4%	31.0%	8.1%
Richmond	2	2,034	59.0%	63.9%	12.7%
South Paris	3	2,906	57.9%	51.6%	10.4%
Ellsworth	4	7,804	64.0%	31.7%	15.2%
Fairfield	5	2,773	51.0%	27.8%	10.7%
Farmington	6	4,142	64.0%	17.2%	11.1%
Old Orchard Beach	7	8,679	37.4%	34.7%	11.4%
Lewiston	8	36,410	49.7%	21.9%	10.6%
Lisbon Falls	9	4,135	38.0%	37.0%	15.0%
Waterville	10	15,886	57.2%	16.5%	8.8%
Bucksport	11	2,453	55.1%	51.1%	15.2%
Westbrook	12	17,662	57.2%	18.3%	8.9%
Bath	13	8,396	60.6%	19.2%	8.7%
Portland	14	66,317	49.9%	14.6%	11.6%
Rumford	15	4,395	47.1%	19.5%	15.2%
Madison	16	2,648	61.5%	22.3%	10.2%
Norway	17	2,286	41.5%	39.4%	21.0%
Kittery	18	4,766	54.6%	16.1%	7.9%
Lake Arrowhead	19	2,890	27.6%	88.2%	12.1%
Kennebunk	20	5,575	58.8%	33.5%	4.4%
Bangor	21	32,800	55.8%	10.1%	12.4%
Farmingdale	22	2,056	50.1%	16.5%	8.0%
Yarmouth	23	5,645	56.9%	21.5%	4.7%
Wilton	24	2,097	45.8%	24.2%	10.5%
Cape Neddick	25	2,984	28.1%	35.2%	4.3%
Biddeford	26	21,303	56.0%	32.1%	9.2%
York Harbor	27	3,190	46.2%	30.8%	8.7%
Brewer	28	9,391	59.7%	14.0%	10.4%
Winslow	29	7,709	48.1%	22.9%	11.1%
Houlton	30	4,840	44.1%	8.9%	13.9%
Cumberland Center	31	2,636	85.0%	31.5%	1.1%
Fort Kent	32	2,468	63.6%	13.2%	9.0%
Belfast	33	6,664	53.0%	22.4%	9.0%
Bar Harbor	34	2,524	51.6%	10.3%	15.6%
Auburn	35	22,960	46.3%	23.5%	9.1%
Millinocket	36	4,451	33.7%	19.5%	14.0%
Gardiner	37	5,737	50.5%	33.2%	9.2%
South Portland	38	25,154	47.3%	16.0%	8.9%
Brunswick	39	15,275	45.3%	16.7%	10.3%
Saco	40	18,757	44.6%	29.8%	10.6%
Skowhegan	41	6,219	59.3%	13.8%	7.6%
Dover-Foxcroft	42	2,542	44.4%	18.8%	12.9%
Gorham	43	6,596	52.3%	23.6%	5.6%
Thomaston	44	2,052	45.0%	11.0%	8.7%
Orono	45	9,514	57.3%	7.4%	6.3%
Lincoln	46	2,947	50.1%	20.6%	7.3%
Augusta	47	18,898	45.0%	18.0%	9.8%
Hallowell	48	2,471	42.6%	17.0%	13.8%
Milford	49	2,256	27.6%	25.8%	8.6%
Old Town	50	7,756	63.7%	12.3%	9.5%
Rockland	51	7,241	48.4%	8.7%	13.9%
Camden	52	3,351	31.8%	7.1%	14.9%
Pittsfield	53	3,063	40.6%	28.5%	14.1%
North Windham	54	4,573	36.5%	48.9%	4.3%
Topsham	55	6,228	39.9%	31.5%	6.6%
Falmouth	56	2,179	51.5%	11.1%	4.8%
Winthrop	57	2,651	43.8%	17.0%	10.1%
Bridgton	58	2,182	31.1%	37.6%	8.0%
Caribou	59	8,025	51.0%	13.1%	8.0%
South Eliot	60	3,708	41.6%	26.1%	7.6%
Scarborough	61	4,931	36.2%	10.2%	6.9%
Oakland	62	2,516	35.7%	17.3%	8.3%
Presque Isle	63	9,494	38.3%	11.7%	9.6%
Madawaska	64	2,825	47.9%	7.8%	4.4%
Calais	65	3,063	39.0%	13.2%	5.4%
Hampden	66	3,944	30.7%	11.2%	2.7%

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.

Create Resume