Kentucky is One of the 10 Most Stressed States in America

Feeling stressed in Kentucky? Apparently, you're not alone. The Bluegrass State is one of the most stressed-out states in America in 2025.

Regardless of how great your life is, there are and will be moments when you'll get overwhelmed, or things won't play out the way you want them to. Granted, it doesn't matter where you live, stress is always around. I don't know about you, but I have found that the older I get the more I stress about things. Whether it be stress over money, commutes, work, family, friends, or sports, everyone experiences stress. For residents of Kentucky, that's apparently the case more times than not according to a recent study.

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Kentucky is One of the Most Stressed States in America

The website, Secret Saunas, released a study of the most relaxed and stressed states in the country. To do that, the website examined six key categories - mental well-being, physical health, financial stability, work pressures, environmental conditions, and social factors. From there, they uncovered patterns that challenge common assumptions about where Americans find their peace. All 50 states were ranked from most to least relaxed and given scores of 50-80, with higher scores representing more relaxed states and lower scores representing more stressed states.

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That being said, Kentucky came in as the sixth-most stressed state in the entire country. Here's what Secret Saunas said about Kentucky:

With a score of 59.75, Kentucky contends with a perfect storm of health challenges. Depression affects 28.67% of residents - the highest rates nationwide, while 39.3% of residents get insufficient sleep. The 20.1% smoking rate and 34.77% physical inactivity rate reflect significant public health challenges.

I mean between the money stress, work stress, health stress, and family stress, it doesn't come as much of a surprise to me that we were so high on this list. At the same time, regardless of where you live, you are feeling those stresses on some level. Honestly, I don't know a single person who isn't stressed about one or more of those issues. Do you feel like Kentucky was ranked one of the most stressed states in the country?

LOOK: Here are the 25 best places to live in Kentucky

Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in Kentucky using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.