Philadelphia ranked most stressed city in Pennsylvania and 16th in the country

Philadelphia was ranked the most stressed city in the state of Pennsylvania and the 16th-most stressed in the United States in a recent study. 

Zippia.com, a job search site, published "The Most Stressed City In Each State," an article which outlined the stress level of cities using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census American Community Survey for 2013 to 2017. Stress levels were evaluated based on unemployment, working hours, commute times, population density, home price to income ratio, and the percent of uninsured people in the population: the higher a city ranked in any of these criteria, the more stressed it was. 

The top three most stressed cities across the United States were West New York, N.Y., Huron, Calif., and South Miami, Fla.

Penn was also ranked the 10th most stressful college in America in 2015 by College Magazine. The study cited Penn's high tuition fee, rigorous application process, and high on-campus crime rates as markers of stress. In response to the ranking, many students said they had trouble juggling school work, research opportunities, internships, and extracurriculars. 

The University has increased its focus on mental health in recent years, notably appointing Benoit Dubé as the Ivy League's first Chief Wellness Officer in fall 2018. In this role, Dubé oversees Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Health Service, Campus Health, Penn Violence Prevention, and Alcohol and Other Drug Program Initiatives. 

“Stress is not the enemy,” Dubé said at a University Council meeting this January, expressing his goals of changing Penn's culture so students can feel comfortable being vulnerable and seeking help when they are struggling.