News

Raising a Family in America Is Stressful – Especially When Living in These 20 Cities

NewsPublished Jul 22, 2016
By Jacqueline Burt Cote
Stressed family

There is absolutely no doubt that stress is a major part of modern family life, with more than 100 million Americans feeling strained (that's nearly a third of the population!). Crazy, right? But according to a recent analysis of 150 cities by personal finance website WalletHub, there are actually some locations where households tend to cope better with family-related stress than others. Feeling stressed? Maybe it's time to see where the old hometown ranks ...

To determine the stress level in families in a given city, the study considered a variety of factors including divorce rates, the percentage of single parents, and the general well-being index. (Analysts also looked at overarching trends that can affect how a family feels, such as which cities suffered from the most overall stress, health-related stress, safety-related stress, work-related stress, and money-related stress.)

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Read on to see the top 20 most stressful cities for families in America. For those who look though this list and find the name of a city that they call home and think it might be time for an address change, why not consider moving to California? Besides the sea and the sunny weather, it's home to many of the country's least stressful cities!

 Image via iStock.com/@JackF

1/20
#20: New Orleans, Louisiana-placeholder
#20: New Orleans, Louisiana
David Ohmer/Flickr

#20: New Orleans, Louisiana

Apparently The Big Easy (despite being a sought-out vacation destination) isn't all that easy to live in -- at least not if you have a family. Considering New Orleans has a high murder rate and was voted the second dirtiest city in the country by Travel + Leisure, we're not too surprised!

2/20
#19: San Bernardino, California-placeholder
#19: San Bernardino, California
iStock.com/MCCAIG

#19: San Bernardino, California

San Bernardino looks lovely, but according to WalletHub's survey the city has the fifth highest poverty rate in the country (and also ranks fifth for lowest credit scores). Definitely stressful!

3/20
#18: Mobile, Alabama-placeholder
#18: Mobile, Alabama
Tim Parker/Flickr

#18: Mobile, Alabama

(Not so) fun fact: Mobile, Alabama, has the unpleasant distinction of being the city with the highest percentage of adults in "fair/poor health" in the country. That can't be good news for local families! 

More from CafeMom: 10 Best & Worst States for Raising Kids: Is Yours on the List?

4/20
#17: Providence, Rhode Island-placeholder
#17: Providence, Rhode Island
Doug Kerr/Flickr

#17: Providence, Rhode Island

As of 2013, one out of every five children in the seemingly idyllic city of Providence, Rhode Island, was living in poverty. Considering that statistic, it's pretty amazing the city is only the 17th most stressful for families!

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#16: Worcester, Massachusetts-placeholder
#16: Worcester, Massachusetts
cmh2315fl/Flickr

#16: Worcester, Massachusetts

Consistently rated one of the most violent cities in Massachusetts by the FBI, Worcester has a reputation for being, well, not exactly the safest place ever to raise a family.

6/20
#15: St. Louis, Missouri-placeholder
#15: St. Louis, Missouri
Philip Leara

#15: St. Louis, Missouri

Um, maybe don't meet me in St. Louis? The Missouri city actually has the highest crime rate per capita of all the 150 cities featured in the study!

More from CafeMom: 10 Best & Worst States to Live in If You're a Working Mom

7/20
#14: Shreveport, Louisiana-placeholder
#14: Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau/Flickr

#14: Shreveport, Louisiana

Southern city Shreveport was found to have the third highest percentage of adults in fair/poor health and also came in second place for having the fewest psychologists per capita. Sounds like mental and physical well-being are major issues!

8/20
#13: Akron, Ohio-placeholder
#13: Akron, Ohio
David Wilson/Flickr

#13: Akron, Ohio

As of 2015, homicide rates were on the rise on Akron, Ohio -- a fact that wouldn't make anyone raising a family feel particularly at ease.

9/20
#12: Cincinnati, Ohio-placeholder
#12: Cincinnati, Ohio
Jeff Kubina/Flickr

#12: Cincinnati, Ohio

A sobering stat for Cincinnati families: According to US Census data and the Ohio Development Agency's Ohio Poverty Report in 2015, 30.9 percent of Cincinnatians live in poverty (over 86,000 individuals!). 

More from CafeMom: 21 States Aren't Keeping Kids Safe: Is Yours on the List?

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#11: Baton Rouge, Louisiana-placeholder
#11: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Antrell Williams/Flickr

#11: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The site of recent protests following the police shooting of Alton Sterling, Baton Rouge has the number one fewest psychologists per capita of all the cities featured (which is a shame, considering that the families there could probably use some help coping!).

11/20
#10: Buffalo, New York-placeholder
#10: Buffalo, New York
David Wilson/Flickr

#10: Buffalo, New York

Something to consider before you shuffle off to Buffalo: The city had the second highest crime rate of any city in New York in 2013 (coming in first: Niagara Falls).

12/20
#9: Rochester, New York-placeholder
#9: Rochester, New York
J. Stephen Conn/Flickr

#9: Rochester, New York

A bad combination: Rochester, New York, had the fifth highest divorce rate and the fourth highest poverty rate of all the cities on the survey.

More from CafeMom: 10 Best & 10 Worst States for Poor Kids to Live in: Is Yours on the List?

13/20
#8: Baltimore, Maryland-placeholder
#8: Baltimore, Maryland
Elvert Barnes/Flickr

#8: Baltimore, Maryland

Anyone who remembers the violent riots in Baltimore last year (following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody) won't be surprised, sadly, to find Baltimore on this list.

14/20
#7: Toledo, Ohio-placeholder
#7: Toledo, Ohio
Vicki Timman/Flickr

#7: Toledo, Ohio

Holy Toledo: The Ohio city has persistent problems with poverty, particularly among single mothers and families in general.

15/20
#6: Birmingham, Alabama-placeholder
#6: Birmingham, Alabama
James Willamor/Flickr

#6: Birmingham, Alabama

Among Birmingham's more dubious distinctions: The city was found to have the second highest divorce rate and the third highest crime rate per capita.

More from CafeMom: 10 States Where Couples Have the Friendliest Divorces (PHOTOS)

16/20
#5: Memphis, Tennessee-placeholder
#5: Memphis, Tennessee
Jeremy Sorrells/Flickr

#5: Memphis, Tennessee

Elvis Presley may have put Memphis on the map (well, and some other stuff, too), but right now the city is unfortunately known for having the second highest crime rate per capita.

17/20
#4: Jackson, Mississippi-placeholder
#4: Jackson, Mississippi
Ken Lund/Flickr

#4: Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson was ranked as having the third lowest credit scores in the country, a fact that surely indicates hard times for families in general.

18/20
#3: Newark, New Jersey-placeholder
#3: Newark, New Jersey
Ken Lund/Flickr

#3: Newark, New Jersey

Here's a tiresome fact about Newark: Residents of the New Jersey city get the fourth fewest average hours of sleep per night!

More from CafeMom: The 10 Safest States: Is Yours on the List? (PHOTOS)

19/20
#2: Cleveland, Ohio-placeholder
#2: Cleveland, Ohio
Erik Drost/Flickr

#2: Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio, has the number one highest divorce rate in the country -- and the second highest poverty rate. Yikes! Hopefully the recent RNC helped the city rake in some cash.

20/20
#1: Detroit, Michigan-placeholder
#1: Detroit, Michigan
Bryan Debus/Flickr

#1: Detroit, Michigan

Not only has the city been plagued with a failing school system in recent times, but Detroit also has the highest poverty rate and third highest divorce rate of all the cities included in the study. (And it's uncomfortably close to the exceedingly troubled city of Flint.)

More from CafeMom: Flint Mom Shares the Heartbreak of Giving Her Kids Poisoned Water

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