Forbes magazine has put together a list of America’s most stressful cities and as a product of Chicago, the winner of the dubious distinction of being America’s most stressful city, I have this to say: “Yeah, so? Shut up and let me eat my hot dog in peace for once, goddamn it. No, I’m not yelling. Why are you always saying that I’m yelling? It’s not like you never yell! Pass the sport peppers before this gets ugly.”
Without further ado…
America’s Most Stressful Cities:
10. Philadelphia, PA
9. Providence, R.I.
8. Salt Lake City, Utah
7. Cleveland, Ohio
6. San Diego, Calif.
5. San Francisco, Calif.
4. Los Angeles, Calif.
3. Detroit, Mich.
2. New York, N.Y.
1. Chicago, Ill.
The magazine considered unemployment rate, expensive gas, high population density and relatively poor air quality as its criteria for what made one city more stressful than another.
Chicago has a 7.3% unemployment rate, the eighth most polluted air in our ranking and in city where everybody drives to get around, a gallon of gas costs a nickel under $4 dollars.
Omitted from the calculations:
America’s Most Stressful Cities [Forbes]
(Photos: Meghann Marco & Meghann Marco)
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I’ll bet you the sandwich the folks on the boat don’t feel stressed out. Nice photos.
@doctor_cos: Sandwich? That is a Chicago-style hot dog.
I would have guessed NYC would be first, but second also makes sense.
Three California cities are also on the list, although I have no idea what, if anything, that means.
I have a book on “The Best Places To Live” because I’m a demographics/atlas nerd, and it ranks about 400 metro areas in stress factor. I believe my town got a pretty high stress rating because of poor healthcare, poor education and a declining industrial economy. And allergies and weather from hell. It’s not a big town either, so there’s no big-city amenities to offset things.
Writing this out has made me wonder why I don’t move.
Way to torture the Chicago ex patriots with a picture of a Portillo’s Chicago Style dog.
@FunPaul: Mmmm Portillos
I could go for a jumbo dog on that poppy seed steamed bun with the works! Anyone want to go wit?
@AngrySicilian: With
@AngrySicilian: No, no … keep it the way it was! … *wit* sounds good – kinda Chicago-y! … I’ll grab a dog wit’ ya!
@AngrySicilian:
I wish, the drives a little long for me.
You mind getting me one and sending it to Minneapolis?
@AngrySicilian: Yea got a Portilio’s right down the street from my house, Meet you there at 7?
@Sinflux: Good luck, some people have tried to get out of here for years.
@kerry: Yep and it shows, I’d love to take the train, but the schedule sucks and the busses are overrun with illegals.
@Froggmann: Me included, I’ve lived here for 6 years, but I finally know someone that will be living in another major city (Seattle wasn’t first choice but hey) so I’ll have some support if/when I move there.
@AngrySicilian:
ME! ME!
I love Chicago style dogs.
@AngrySicilian: “Wit” would be vorrect if you were ordering a cheesesteak at Pat’s in South Philly.
@AngrySicilian: mmmmm Portillo’s especially since they’ve moved in to NWI loves me some Chicago dogs
@AngrySicilian: @FunPaul: Mmmm Portillos
I could go for a jumbo dog on that poppy seed steamed bun with the works! Anyone want to go wit?
“Wit” would be the proper usage if you were ordering a cheesesteak at Pat’s in south Philly.
@AngrySicilian: @FunPaul: Mmmm Portillos
I could go for a jumbo dog on that poppy seed steamed bun with the works! Anyone want to go wit?
“Wit” would be the proper terminology if ordering a cheesesteak at Pat’s in south Philly.
@FunPaul: Wayne’s in NE Portland has Chicago dogs, Old Style on draft, and shows the Cubs games…
@varro: Now they just need Al’s I-talian Beef, Mario’s I-talian ice, and a good stuffed pizza, and they’d be set.
@varro: My kind of place. I’ll have to check that out. Thank you for the recommendation.
@FunPaul: Oh Portillo’s, I love you. Toss in a slice of Malnati’s and then we’re really talking.
@lannister80:
Granted, the Portillos in Souther California is good, but it just not the same as eating two or three dogs back home in Chicago.
@FunPaul: Big beef, motz, hot peppers, dipped please.
What do people in San Deigo have to be stressed out about? Too many days of 75 degree sunny weather?
@B: I live in San diego, and besides the traffic and it being cloudy by the beach 250 days / year, I have no idea what’s stressful about SD.
@B: Here’s what we have to be stressed out about:
1.) Some of the worst public transportation ever.
2.) The city has been so mismanaged, that it is now close to broke. Because of that, city services like filling potholes are few and far between.
3.) The cost of housing makes the dream of owning a home, just that, a dream.
The positive is, if you become homeless there is usually only a week out of the year you need to go into a temporary shelter to avoid freezing to death. Yea sunny weather!
@B: seriously! SD is one of the chillest places to live. I mean, ANY place is gonna suck if you’re poor, but even the homeless are happier in SD due to incredible weather as well as incredible nature. Oh, don’t forget the incredible ladiez!!!
@B: It’s considered an Army town.
@Gilbert: Try Navy town. And the Marines are here too.
@B:
It’s all those illegal Mess-kins they must support.
These Forbes lists are utter crap designed to promote the Forbes brand. There I said it now can we all just ignore the Forbes advertising in the future?
I hope DC was number 11, it’s definitely up there.
@theblackdog: dc must be 11 of the whole list is bullshit.
It seems to me that the best way to determine the country’s most stressful cities would be to, ummm, poll a random sample from each city about their stress level. But what do I know? Maybe air quality and unemployment are good proxies.
Still, that would make Morocco much more stressful than the US, which is opposite my impression from living there. Maybe they should factor in the availability of marijuana.
The parking in San Francisco is stressful. It once took me 40 minutes to find a damn spot. Now I take bart or caltrain and walk.
@Wynner3: more so with with a spouse, but often the silicon valley gets lumped into these things. in and of its self, SF, peace is only a short walk/bike/muni/bart away.
@ceriphim: i think you are on to something. most of the people that suck are transplants from ohio and minnesota, though.
@picardia: the answer is probably the same list. If you have the option and decide to live in a city, then can’t handle it, then you’re doing it wrong.
I’d imagine it’s pretty stressful to live in Galveston, TX right now.
In other polls Chicago is also the unhealthiest eating, most number of bars/beer consumption and I think most ardent professional sports fans. These are off the top of my head from dimbulb morning news anchors.
BUT add those in and by being drunk, eating glutinous food and watching sports I’m totally not stressing.
As a non-native Chicagoan I find it a very non-stressful city as big cities go. People are friendly which I think is a big attraction to folks like me when they relocate.
And besides the Junk food there is a booming restaurant scene here. I dare any city to match it right now.
@Rabbi Dave:
They also put too much stupid crap on their hot dogs.
@Rabbi Dave: I love Chicago. More bars and restaurants per square foot? Bring it on! Chicago is at the top of the list of places I’d like to live. Stressful? Maybe, but having put up with Anchorage and Albany winters, and Seattle and New Jersey traffic, how bad can it really be? Sure, the CTA is held together with baling wire and duct tape, but at least they have public transit–no such luxury here in the Southeast, where the buses simply exist to block traffic and soak up excess diesel fuel.
This story is just another reason why journalists should leave the social science modeling and data gathering to professionals. We’re professionals, kids–don’t try this at home, or in Forbes.
“There are 7.2 million residents in the City by the Bay, and they’ve got cause for stress.”
The 2006 census says 744,041. Did they mean the entire bay area?
Detroit is not the most stressful? The Armpit of the Midwest? The Devil’s Navel? Well, maybe being resigned to both a life and death in hell is calming enough.
I kid, though. Keep on rocking, Detroit.
Salt Lake City??
That is NOT a hot dog — it’s a goddammed salad.
@OldHack: Exactly, which is why it is healthy and good for ya!
Chicago is #1 for stress…probably because the #1 worse airport is O’hare.
Florida’s not on the list?
Do they not understand how much it sucks to be tripping over old/dieing people 24/7?
This is, as most people know, a meaningless poll. However, they are tons of ommitted variables that they should have considered like, “Average Work Week”, “Ratio of Single Parent/Multi-Parent Households”, “Divorce Rates”, Crime, and a Restructured Munical GDP.
Anyhow, I don’t really buy this list.
@Nigromancer: Average commuting time. Number of rainy days. Violent and property crime rates. The ratio of average income to average expenses. The average savings/debt. The ratio of park space to size of the city or population.
Forbes does some interesting lists that are sometimes well thought out. This was not one of those lists.
How about NOLA? Crime, poverty, corruption, hurricanes, idiot politicians, the list goes on and on…..
@iminneworleans:
Yeah really. I’ve lived in Chicago, and its way less stressful than post-Katrina New Orleans (aka America’s 3rd World). Even before the storm, there was really no point in living in New Orleans if you had anything higher than a high school diploma. Economy sucks, education sucks, transit sucks, infrastructure sucks, politicians suck, etc. Nothing gets done. A crater on a major street just gets dirt dumped into it. No jobs outside of hospitality. Horrible weather.
At least the food is good.
Sure Chitown has nearly 4/gallon gas, but when I lived there I just took the train/bus everywhere. And FWIW, I can find a decent place in Chicago for less than I can find a decent place in NOLA AND I won’t have to worry about getting mugged and murdered or have the place looted and ransacked. Plus no hurricanes. I’ll take a snowstorm over hauling ass and depleting my “oh shit” fund any day.
If you follow the links to the study methodology, this is based on housing prices and unemployment rates.
So if you rent and want to buy a house and are unemployed, these are the most stressful cities to live in.
On the other hand, if you already own your own place and are happily employed, there is near zero stress here in beautiful sunny San Diego except the occasional traffic snarl.
@sarusa: Which means that anywhere in California is going to be stressful because our housing prices are ludicrous. Jealous much, Forbes?
The best think that has happened to me since I moved to godforsaken Los Angeles is the opening of a Portillo’s within 30 miles from here. I think I’ll be going there Saturday.
@Crabby Cakes… (formerly Ali..): Moving to LA was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made. I can’t wait until I save up enough cash to get out of this god damn city.
@Sinflux: I agree. I just keep telling myself that every day is one day closer to getting the hell out of here. I’d take Chicago over L.A. in a heartbeat.
@Sinflux:
Agreed LA is a terrible place to live. Some love it, but once I’m done with school, I’m out of here.
Love visiting Chicago on business. Loved the people. Loved the food. O’Hare was one of the most efficient airports I’ve ever experienced up to three times a month for the two years that I used it on business trips. I’m just not buying Forbes’ conclusion.
I’m 4th generation born and raised in California. Three California cities made the list! That I can buy. I’ve got some other cities in California that ought to get “honorable mention.” San Diego seems odd to me though.
I was going to be pissed if Cleveland didn’t make the list. We make EVERY bad list. We have the franchise on bad lists.
7th? Eh… we’ll try harder next year.
@JPinCLE: That’s our city mantra:
“There’s always next year”
xD
Chicago was also the number 6 most miserable city in the country. [consumerist.com]
I’m so happy I moved here from San Jose. All that sunshine and awesome weed was a real bummer.
@ThickSkinned: San Jose should be on there, there may be lots of sun and weed but ironically the people totally suck…
Meh. Really don’t care what the polls say, I still love Chicago and am happy to have lived here most of my life.
I live in SLC and I’m not stressed, what is there to be stressed about?? The lowest average age group, largest families per capita, one of the highest gas prices in the country, large population of illegals, oppression of liquor laws, lake effect…..yeah I’m not stressed.
I would have much preferred the “least stressful cities” list, so I could check job offerings there.
Wasn’t Chitown just ranked the 11th best city to live in? I guess not being in the top ten has really stressed us out! And how the heck is Detroit only 3rd, they need to be numero uno, dammit! I would much rather live in Chicago than Dtown.
“and in city where everybody drives to get around”
That would be a neat trick as Chicago is the city with the 2nd most public transportation riders. The “survey” fails right there.
@JosephFinn: Yeah, most of my friends here *don’t* drive. I sold my car over two years ago after 3 years of not driving it. Also, since gas prices have gone up even more people rely on the CTA. I think LA is probably the city where everyone drives to get around.
@kerry:
By LA, you’re hopefully including Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and possibly Ventura counties.
@JosephFinn: Seconding this. Everybody takes the El or the Metra unless they’re delivery drivers, have reserved free parking spaces at work, or are just dumb. I definitely wouldn’t live here if the public transportation weren’t adequate. List fails it.
Now, about the CTA itself causing stress with spontaneous reroutings, delayed service and a large percentage of employees who just don’t give a damn, that’s another matter entirely.
I like Chicago, dammit, warts and all.
Hey, stressful and good aren’t mutually exclusive. I drive through lots of shitty areas on a regular basis where there isn’t a lot of stress.
Sometimes, the good stuff comes with a lot of stress!
Got no job, no house, no spouse, no money?
Well, then you got no worries about promotions/raises, no mortgage payment, no nagging, no concern over the value of your 401(k), and no stress!
A majority of the rich people I know with fabulous houses, cars, boats, etc… are always stressed, but they have the best “stuff.”
Mmm Portillo’s. One of the reasons I miss living in Chicago. Other reasons include Giordanno’s, Garrett’s Popcorn, and Heaven on Seven.
San Diego… great weather, great activities… lousy traffic, high housing costs, and lousy pay.
@MyPetFly: Lousy traffic only if you are going in the same direction as rush hour. If you’re going the opposite direction, like 15 north in the morning, and south in the evening, you’re fine, unlike LA, where it’s jammed in both directions at rush hour.
And pay is fine.
I’ve lived in NYC, Detroit (and I mean Detroit proper, as in, the view from my apartment was surrounding projects and arsoned lots), and LA. NYC is so much more stressful than either of the other two that I don’t even know how they can be on the same list. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d rather be stuck in traffic than jammed into a subway car with my nose stuck in someone’s armpit and some random person groping my ass because it’s so crowded I can’t turn around to confront them. Seriously. Give me a random LA traffic jam any day.
I strongly dislike living in NYC. It’s a fun place to visit, but living here (3.5 years now) has begun to wear on me and my mental health. It’s sort of like if almost every day of your life is an overcrowded party. It’s fun for awhile, but sometimes you just want to kick back and watch a little TV and not be around so many damn people all the time. And forget about privacy – you can’t value your privacy and stay sane here.
Yes, moving here less than a year after spending several months in rural Wyoming may have been a bit too big of a shock to the system…(by the way, I’d go back to rural Wyoming in a second, tweekers and oilmen be damned.)
@nicemarmot617: Hm, I’ve lived in NYC and now live in LA. I thought that too about the subway, but enduring a 2 hour commute in first gear the entire time I long for the subway.
Driving in NYC sucks, but driving in LA sucks more.
I think both cities have a lock on being stressful though. NYC is stressful just because of the sheer number of PEOPLE in your way, in your face, in line, everywhere all the time.
LA is stressful due to the shitty transportation infrastructure and LACK of personal relationships.
I put them at a tie…
In NYC you can go out and party with your friends all night to relieve stress.
In LA, I can relax at the rooftop pool in the sunshine all day.
My goal is to be bicoastal, enjoying the good of each and hopefully mitigating the bad.
@veronykah: My personal circumstances in LA meant I didn’t have much of a problem with the freeways because I could get to most of the places I needed to go without leaving surface streets. It was significantly slower than an uncrowded freeway, but low stress and faster than rush hour freeways. I am also sort of a loner, so the disconnect you feel in LA doesn’t really bother me. Being around tons of strangers constantly does.
In other words, I should move back to LA! I liked it there. Ah, if only.
@nicemarmot617: I move TO Wyoming (not rural) from NYC and after a minor “OMG there is nothing to do?!” freakout I adjusted, took a hike and am never. ever. setting foot in NYC again unless it’s to visit. Short term.
How come Houston and New Orleans aren’t on the list? If I had hurricanes bearing down on my ass all summer long I’d be pretty stressed…
I’ve lived in #1, 2, 4 and 5, and I now live in blissful Miami. I must say that LA sucks the most. It takes you an hour to drive 10 miles, the people are awful and the air is gross.
How did DC not make this list?!
On a different note, one of my best girlfriends recently moved to NYC
straight out of college from the University of Michigan. When I checked
in with her, she (very nonchalantly) said she is seeing a shrink now. I
asked her what was wrong and she informed me that everyone in NYC sees a
shrink because “living there is very stressful.” Which begs the
question, why would anyone do it?
Who wants to send a Chicago ex-pat some Portillo’s?
FUCK YOU NEW JERSEY! YOUR WHITE CASTLES IS A TEMPTATION, BUT IT IS NOT PORTILLOS!
Atlanta didn’t make it into the top ten? I’m shocked! I used to live there and can vouch that its traffic, people, government and general atmosphere made every aspect of daily life far more difficult that it needed to be.
I’ve lived in both NY and Chicago and it’s a toss-up. In NY paying the rent alone should put it at the top of the stressful cities, but Chicago’s shitty weather is also a big factor. I know a lot Chicagoans who get very stressed coming the end of august.
minneapolis ftw?
Philadelphia: “What time is it? What time does the sun go down today? OMG gotta get this work finished, must be back to the suburbs by sundown or I’m gonna get stabbed.”
I think the only thing thats stressful about living in Chicago is that there is only 1 portilllos in it.
seriously though, it would be so much more stressful for people after they leave here because the food is so plentiful that I can smell a stuffed pizza even as I type this.
I shoulda never quit smoking
“Sport peppers”??
I never stressed much for the 8 years I was in Chicago. Its a fun town. Tons of taxis. There’s always affordable housing to buy or rent. Its not very snobby (usually). Plenty of work if you are in the financial industry.
Good times.
@ TechnoDestructo
It’s always sunny in Philadelphia.
Chicago is awesome! I can’t wait to go back and live there! And I live in small town nowhere and I just paid $4.05 for gas.
thr’s ht dg n tht pc? ktchp ∓ mstrd FTW
@MariaOzawa: No Ketchup, only mustard. Some Chicago hotdog places don’t even have ketchup out, you have to ask them for it. And they’re not thrilled to give it to you.
I can see why SF is listed as a stressful city. When it comes to gas prices, they’re ahead of the curve. Also, it’s not too pedestrian friendly. It was once considered the most dangerous city because of the number of fatal accidents for pedestrians and cyclists. Add that to the parking scarcity, the filthy buses with its rude drivers, the nation’s highest gas prices, skyrocketing rates with a crime rate to match and the lack of space, I’m surprised it wasn’t higher on the list.
Salt Lake City, Utah? Stressful? I thought the Mormons were really happy there?
According to their TV commercials, belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints means you will have wonderful, happy families and communities, and a loving God that takes all your worries away. What could be so stressful? Did the TV commercials lie? I’ve never heard of a TV commercial lying before…
@Julia789: Last time I was in SLC, 20 years ago for a school trip, I recall there was not much to do after about 8PM. Think about it, Mormons, not much drinking, dancing, etc. To me that stressful. Plus it’s cold in the winter. On the other hand, usually these surveys include the surrounding suburbs, Park City is a pretty happening party place. The ski bums there don’t seem that stressed out to me…
@BillsBurg: Ah, that explains the stress – No outlets for it!
; )
@BillsBurg: Much has changed in 20 years, I was being a little sarcastic when I listed all of those things. You can’t get in to a dept store without some rich soccer mom toting 5 kids around in her Escalade that takes up 4 parking spots. The booze is watered down, the liquor store closes at ten, that’s right liquor store, you can’t even buy it at the grocery store. The mormons sorta keep the crime rates down and we honestly don’t have a ghetto, just rednecks. Employment is up and so is home ownership so I’m thinking the only reason we made the list is pollution, drug use, and the high rate of depression/suicide. Go figure.
@Julia789: The TV commercials do not lie because the LDS Bishop endorses them and he is all-knowing.
Why am I not shocked that Cleveland is on that list? Yet another list we made it on…
Even though Chicago gas is around $4 a gallon, as a previous Consumerist post pointed out, when you factor in wages Chicago actually has nearly the lowest “fuel cost as a percentage of income” in the country.
I was however surprised to see that Chicago has such a high unemployment rate. I guess I’m sheltered.
Still, I don’t feel that much stress.