New Jersey is a pretty ‘chill’ state, personal finance site says

How stressed is New Jersey? Not very, according to a new report from WalletHub.

The personal finance website released its report on 2022's "Most and Least Stressed States," comparing all 50 states across 41 key metrics, said analyst Jill Gonzalez. The data set ranges from average hours worked per week, to the personal bankruptcy rate to the share of adults getting adequate sleep.

New Jersey is one of the least stressed states. It ranked 41st on the list, putting it as one of the 10 least stressed states in the U.S.

She said New Jersey did well in three main categories: money, family, and health and safety.

"Adults are getting enough sleep there. We're seeing that adults are, for the most part in good or excellent health, the depression diagnoses are very low there, mental health seems to be pretty stable. The separation and divorce rate is one of the lowest in the country," Gonzalez said.

The other area where New Jersey did well is that there are not a lot of adults who are worried about money, she added. The personal bankruptcy rate is low, credit scores are high, and debt levels are relatively low when they are compared to earnings.

Job security in New Jersey is very high too. When it comes to neighboring states, the Garden State did the best. Pennsylvania is more middle-of-the-pack. It ranked 24th. New York was exactly middle-of-the-pack, coming in at 25th.

However, New Jersey needs to improve on its work-related stress levels. Even though people seem to be happy with their salaries, Gonzalez said residents are working longer hours to make that money. Their commute times are longer, so they're not spending as much leisure time throughout the day as those in other states may be doing.

The most stressed states are in the south, according to the report with Louisiana coming in as the most stressed state in America. Nevada came in second, followed by New Mexico, West Virginia, and Mississippi.

Utah is the least stressed state followed by Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire.

For the full report, please visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/most-stressed-states/32218

Jen Ursillo is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at jennifer.ursillo@townsquaremedia.com

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