AUSTIN, Texas — Have you been feeling more stressed lately?
Well, you're not alone. A new study by WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranks Texas as the ninth most-stressed state in the U.S.
WalletHub compared all 50 states to different key indicators. The data set ranged from average hours worked per week, to personal bankruptcy rate to the share of adults getting adequate sleep.
Texas had a calculated score of 53.38 out of 100, ranking second in work-related stress, fourth in family-related stress, and No. 14 in health and safety-related stress.
The health-and-safety-related stress category looked at things like the unaffordability of doctor visits, suicide rates and increase in annual health insurance premiums. These things tend to fall in hand with insurance rates.
According to Jana Eubank, executive director at the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC), there are about 5 million uninsured Texans.
"We have a large adult uninsured population in the state," said Eubank. "There's really just nothing that they're eligible to receive, and they can't afford to pay for commercial coverage or their employers don't offer insurance."
For the money-related stress category, they looked at factors like the share of the population living in poverty and housing affordability. Here in Texas, many are struggling to make ends meet.
"If the average rent price is $1,500, but a minimum wage, someone's making $7.25," said Anika Olson, assistant director of Policy Research. "That doesn't equate to being able to afford the average rent."
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: