3 Washington Cities Among The 'Most Stressed' Cities In The U.S.

By Sarah Tate

July 7, 2025

Photo: MilanMarkovic/iStock/Getty Images

Life can be pretty stressful. Hardships like struggling to find a job, searching for an affordable place to live or even paying off credit card debt or student loans can increase stress levels and leave many people feeling overwhelmed and uncertain. Depending on where you live, you may have a higher chance of being stressed than those who live somewhere else.

WalletHub analyzed some of the most populated cities around the country to determine which are the most and least stressed in 2025 based on a variety of factors, from health and safety to work and family. Featured on the list are four spots in Washington, three of which were among the most stressed locales in America:

No. 43: Tacoma
No. 44: Spokane
No. 74: Vancouver
No. 138: Seattle

While Tacoma and Spokane ranked back-to-back, the former claimed the top spot as the most stressed Washington city on the list. Seattle, however, ranked lower on the list, making it among the least stressed in the country.

These the are 10 most stressed cities in the U.S.:

Detroit, Michigan
Cleveland, Ohio
Baltimore, Maryland
Gulfport, Mississippi
Memphis, Tennessee
Shreveport, Louisiana
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Toledo, Ohio
Birmingham, Alabama
Jackson, Mississippi

To determine its ranking, WalletHub compared 182 cities around the U.S. across four factors: work stress, financial stress, family stress and health & safety stress. These factors were then evaluated using 39 relevant metrics, including average weekly work hours, job security, unemployment rate, median annual household income, poverty rate, food insecurity, housing affordability, separation & divorce rate, chid care cost, mental health, suicide rate, share of adults in fair or poor health, crime rate and more.

See the full report at wallethub.com to read up on the most stressed cities in the country. You can also check out our previous coverage of the Washington locale crowned the "most charming small city" in the state.