2010 List of America’s Most Stressed Cities Released; Detroit Is No. 1

From AOL News:

The Motor City is feeling a bit stressed out these days.

Detroit, and its 9.026 stress index, earned the unfavorable honor of topping the Portfolio.com/bizjournals analysis of stress levels in America’s 50 largest metropolitan areas. Los Angeles scored the next highest stress index, with a score of 5.899.

The study looked at 10 factors, including unemployment, income growth, poverty, sunshine, murders and commuting, to determine which cities leave their residents all wound up and which ones offer the good life. Drawing upon 2009 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the organizers analyzed the 50 largest American metro areas and then compared where they scored on those indicators to the national averages. (More information on how the study was conducted can be found here.)

Considering the ongoing dire state of the American job market and the struggling auto industry, the stress that the Motor City is experiencing certainly seems justified.

At No. 3 in the rankings is Cleveland, which has a 5.146 stress index. Possibly that result reflects some vestigial pain from LeBron James’ “decision” to move down to South Beach, Fla., although topping the “Robberies” index with 827.5 robberies per 100,000 residents may be the better explanation.

Here are the top five most stressed cities studied, along with corresponding stress indexes and unemployment rates.

1. Detroit: 9.023; 14.3 percent unemployment

2. Los Angeles: 5.899; 11.6 percent unemployment

3. Cleveland: 5.146; 9.3 percent unemployment

4. Riverside, Calif.: 5.105; 14.4 percent unemployment

5. St. Louis: 4.737; 9.9 percent unemployment

And the five least stressed cities studied:

46. Austin, Texas: -5.183; 7.4 percent unemployment

47. Raleigh, N.C.: -5.249; 8.4 percent unemployment

48. Minneapolis-St. Paul: -6.875; 6.7 percent unemployment

49. Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Va.: -7.859; 7.6 percent unemployment

50. Salt Lake City: -7.949; 7.1 percent unemployment

New York City, the largest metro area studied, with 19.7 million residents, boasts the longest average commute to work, with an average of 34.55 minutes. It came in at No. 6 with a 4.734 stress index.

via 2010 List of America’s Most Stressed Cities Released; Detroit Is No. 1.