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These Are The 10 Stressed Places In Montana

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 Montana 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 Montana take being stressed to the next level?

It turns out the good people of Lakeside have earned the dubious distinction of being the most stressed out place in Montana. The city is at the top of the pack of the 10 most stressed out places in the Treasure State:

  1. Lakeside
  2. Cut Bank
  3. Hardin
  4. Hamilton
  5. Livingston
  6. Columbia Falls
  7. Townsend
  8. Whitefish
  9. Kalispell
  10. Pablo

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

How We Measured Stress In Montana (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 53 places in Montana 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 53 (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 Treasure 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 53 places we analyzed.

1. Lakeside

Population: 2,755People With High Rent: 60.3%
People With Long Commute: 37.7%
People Without Insurance: 32.4%

2. Cut Bank

Population: 2,947People With High Rent: 55.8%
People With Long Commute: 16.7%
People Without Insurance: 23.0%

3. Hardin

Population: 3,720People With High Rent: 43.2%
People With Long Commute: 12.5%
People Without Insurance: 36.9%

4. Hamilton

Population: 4,486People With High Rent: 55.5%
People With Long Commute: 25.0%
People Without Insurance: 17.1%

5. Livingston

Population: 7,086People With High Rent: 43.2%
People With Long Commute: 26.6%
People Without Insurance: 17.4%

6. Columbia Falls

Population: 4,765People With High Rent: 43.2%
People With Long Commute: 19.7%
People Without Insurance: 15.8%

7. Townsend

Population: 2,033People With High Rent: 52.9%
People With Long Commute: 27.7%
People Without Insurance: 15.2%

8. Whitefish

Population: 6,542People With High Rent: 49.8%
People With Long Commute: 16.1%
People Without Insurance: 19.2%

9. Kalispell

Population: 20,629People With High Rent: 52.9%
People With Long Commute: 9.4%
People Without Insurance: 17.3%

10. Pablo

Population: 2,616People With High Rent: 35.9%
People With Long Commute: 16.7%
People Without Insurance: 44.2%

Detailed List Of Stressed Places In Montana

City Rank Population People With High Rent People With Long Commute People Without Insurance
Lakeside 1 2,755 60.3% 37.7% 32.4%
Cut Bank 2 2,947 55.8% 16.7% 23.0%
Hardin 3 3,720 43.2% 12.5% 36.9%
Hamilton 4 4,486 55.5% 25.0% 17.1%
Livingston 5 7,086 43.2% 26.6% 17.4%
Columbia Falls 6 4,765 43.2% 19.7% 15.8%
Townsend 7 2,033 52.9% 27.7% 15.2%
Whitefish 8 6,542 49.8% 16.1% 19.2%
Kalispell 9 20,629 52.9% 9.4% 17.3%
Pablo 10 2,616 35.9% 16.7% 44.2%
Missoula 11 68,377 55.1% 7.2% 15.4%
Dillon 12 4,181 49.1% 11.5% 9.8%
Sidney 13 5,888 42.6% 10.0% 20.4%
East Missoula 14 2,597 42.9% 3.0% 26.0%
Laurel 15 6,887 38.7% 23.0% 13.8%
Belgrade 16 7,625 49.1% 11.0% 19.0%
Conrad 17 2,600 41.0% 17.7% 13.5%
Billings 18 106,979 45.5% 9.4% 15.1%
Polson 19 4,580 40.5% 8.6% 27.7%
Lame Deer 20 2,131 32.1% 19.1% 46.6%
Wolf Point 21 2,730 26.2% 12.8% 27.6%
North Browning 22 2,363 32.6% 1.6% 51.1%
Columbus 23 2,250 17.3% 29.9% 7.8%
Evergreen 24 6,711 52.4% 8.3% 21.8%
Shelby 25 3,096 41.7% 19.2% 20.7%
Orchard Homes 26 5,410 60.9% 6.8% 20.8%
Havre 27 9,668 49.2% 7.9% 13.8%
Libby 28 2,667 34.7% 4.1% 26.2%
Lockwood 29 6,943 58.1% 11.3% 15.7%
Great Falls 30 59,017 41.5% 7.3% 14.7%
Lolo 31 3,994 38.3% 30.7% 16.9%
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County 32 9,243 39.9% 23.6% 14.7%
South Browning 33 2,045 14.7% 7.9% 35.7%
Bozeman 34 39,123 49.7% 8.2% 9.8%
Butte-Silver Bow 35 33,481 46.9% 11.5% 16.8%
Glendive 36 5,167 38.3% 14.9% 12.5%
East Helena 37 2,497 44.1% 8.6% 11.5%
Miles City 38 8,553 34.3% 8.9% 13.0%
Glasgow 39 3,327 31.2% 13.7% 14.2%
Bigfork 40 4,375 37.6% 20.5% 10.5%
Helena Valley Southeast 41 7,340 17.1% 11.9% 16.1%
Red Lodge 42 2,337 39.3% 15.0% 15.4%
Helena 43 29,142 44.1% 7.0% 9.4%
Big Sky 44 2,694 30.0% 7.0% 14.6%
Four Corners 45 3,264 33.2% 14.1% 9.6%
Deer Lodge 46 3,085 27.9% 9.5% 13.8%
Colstrip 47 2,243 36.5% 4.8% 10.9%
Helena Valley Northwest 48 3,939 27.0% 22.2% 8.9%
Malmstrom AFB 49 3,625 22.5% 2.6% 0.3%
Lewistown 50 5,879 35.2% 4.7% 10.8%
Helena Valley West Central 51 8,502 31.3% 8.3% 10.5%
Helena Valley Northeast 52 2,731 39.1% 13.9% 3.8%
Montana City 53 2,683 14.8% 8.0% 3.2%
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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