You right now, according to the internet. Photograph via Shutterstock.
Feeling overworked, underappreciated, and altogether disgusted with life? You should be, now that DC is ranked as the most stressed-out city in the United States.
Movoto, one of those websites that ranks places based on click-inducing metrics, says Washington is full of “countless normal people”—for example, people not directly involved with the government, government contractors, or media—who are “exposed to supernormal levels of stress.” The site reviewed cities according to commute times, unemployment, cost of living, the number of hours worked per week by an average resident, population density, and the percentage of a person’s earnings that go toward rent.
The District was named the most stressful city overall even without being No. 1 in any individual category. (It was ranked 35th for crimes per 100,000 residents, for instance.) A few of its results are particularly burdensome, like the 40.1 hours an average resident works per week, or its ninth-worst commute time of 33 minutes.
The East Coast in general is not a serene place, Movoto found. New York was ranked the second most stressful; Miami, Philadelphia, Jersey City, and Newark, New Jersey, were all among the ten most stressed-out cities, too.
If there’s one relaxing thing to take away from this ranking, it’s that Movoto at least had the respect to rank DC against other cities, rather than against states, as most of these arbitrary, hair-yanking ratings do. Just writing and reading about observed stress levels is nerve-racking, so here’s a calming video of lion cubs pouncing around at the National Zoo.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Washington Residents More Stressed Out Than Rest of US, Says Website
Serenity now? More like serenity never, according to real-estate blog Movoto.
Feeling overworked, underappreciated, and altogether disgusted with life? You should be, now that DC is ranked as the most stressed-out city in the United States.
Movoto, one of those websites that ranks places based on click-inducing metrics, says Washington is full of “countless normal people”—for example, people not directly involved with the government, government contractors, or media—who are “exposed to supernormal levels of stress.” The site reviewed cities according to commute times, unemployment, cost of living, the number of hours worked per week by an average resident, population density, and the percentage of a person’s earnings that go toward rent.
The District was named the most stressful city overall even without being No. 1 in any individual category. (It was ranked 35th for crimes per 100,000 residents, for instance.) A few of its results are particularly burdensome, like the 40.1 hours an average resident works per week, or its ninth-worst commute time of 33 minutes.
The East Coast in general is not a serene place, Movoto found. New York was ranked the second most stressful; Miami, Philadelphia, Jersey City, and Newark, New Jersey, were all among the ten most stressed-out cities, too.
If there’s one relaxing thing to take away from this ranking, it’s that Movoto at least had the respect to rank DC against other cities, rather than against states, as most of these arbitrary, hair-yanking ratings do. Just writing and reading about observed stress levels is nerve-racking, so here’s a calming video of lion cubs pouncing around at the National Zoo.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
What It Felt Like for a Virginia Marching Band to Win Metallica’s Contest
What’s IN and OUT in DC Restaurant Trends for 2024
Introducing 8 of DC’s Most Stylish
Best of Washington 2023: Things to Eat, Drink, Do, and Know Right Now
Washingtonian Magazine
May 2024: Great Getaways
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
13 Major Concerts and Music Festivals in the DC Area This Spring
Mary Timony on Her Emotional New Album, “Untame the Tiger”
The Beatles in DC: A New Exhibit in Maryland Looks Back on Early Beatlemania
Northern Virginia High School Wins Metallica’s Marching Band Competition
More from News & Politics
3 New Memoirs by Prominent Women
Everything You Wanted to Know About Urban Bear Sightings but Were Afraid to Ask, Because Who Wants to Get That Close to a Bear?
Rockville Police Are Searching for Culprits of a $4,500 Pickleball Paddle Heist
Dozens of Vintage Planes Will Fly Over the National Mall This Saturday
PHOTOS: “Rupaul’s Drag Race” Queens Work It at the National Mall
Meet the NIH Detectives Cracking Medicine’s Toughest Cases
5 of DC’s Most Interesting Ideas for Revitalizing Chinatown
A “Corpse Flower” Is Currently in Bloom at the Botanic Garden