Here’s Why Kentucky is the 9th Most Stressed State in the Country

April is Stress Awareness Month and to kick it off the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on the most and least stressed states. Kentucky is ranked 5th in the percentage of the population living in poverty and 8th in divorce rate. Here's more information from the study.

The pandemic has made life very stressful over the past year for so many. It has been very tough on me and my husband too. Because of my health issues, he's very "overprotective" which I understand, but I'm also a social person. By never leaving the house, with the exception of work and shopping, it's just the two of us together day in and day out. We started nit-picking each other apart and arguing about silly stuff that didn't matter. We've worked our way through it, thank goodness. It wasn't easy though. It breaks my heart that Kentucky has the eighth highest divorce rate in the country right now.

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"To determine the states with the highest stress levels, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 41 key metrics. The data set ranges from average hours worked per week to the personal bankruptcy rate to the share of adults getting adequate sleep."

More disturbing than the divorce rate is where Kentucky ranked in the percentage of population living in poverty (5th). During the Christmas Wish season, it was apparent that many were suffering through the pandemic. So many couldn't even put food on the table. Some still can't. Many adults aren't getting enough sleep, and many are in fair or poor health, based on WalletHub.com study. Let's hope things turn around for our fellow neighbors soon.

This is a breakdown of where Kentucky ranks in stress compared to other states.

Stress Levels in Kentucky (1=Most Stressed, 25=Avg.):

• 19^th – Avg. Hours Worked per Week
• 3^rd – Share of Adults Getting Adequate Sleep
• 3^rd – % of Adults in Fair/Poor Health
• 26^th – Job Security
• 5^th – Median Credit Score
• 5^th – % of Population Living in Poverty
• 8^th – Divorce Rate
• 12^th – Psychologists per Capita