Are you relaxed, fellow Wisconsinites? You should be. Wisconsin is a lot less stressed out than most other states in the union. Like, way, way less stressed out, at least according to "an in-depth analysis" from WalletHub, a personal finance website. The good folks there put together the state-by-state comparison and surprise - the Badger state ranks 42nd, with 1 being the most stressed (that's Alabama) and 25 being average.
Of course Wisconsin is less stressed out than other states. We knew that, right? Look around. Picture those bucolic images of black and white cows dotting the lush green, rolling hillsides in the south or the thousands of crystal clear lakes carved out among the pine and Aspen stands of the Northwoods. Over the river and through the woods, we've got the life, hey?
WalletHub just put some numbers to what we know. Their rankings were based on 33 "key metrics." These metrics and Wisconsin's rank includes:
• Average hours worked per week - 34th
• Job security - 20th
• Median credit score - 38th
• Housing affordability - 41st
• Percent of population living below poverty line - 34th
• Crime rate per capita - 37th
Based on these findings, the three worst places for stress are Alabama, followed by Louisiana and Mississippi.
The top three places, ranking 49, 50 and 51 (Washington D.C. was included in the survey) were Iowa, North Dakota and Minnesota.
It seems us non-Southern folk fare well in these types of tests. South Dakota was right in there at No. 48, followed by Utah and Nebraska.
It must be the ice water in our veins that keeps us perennially chilled out.
Sure, all those "key metrics" are important. They show that here in Wisconsin, we have jobs with some level of security that pay enough that we're able to pay our bills. Almost two-thirds of us are living above the poverty line - kind of shocking that is considered "good" but it is - and we're fairly stable. And relatively low-crime.
But are our lives really that stress-free? Doesn't it seem like there's a few other key metrics we're missing that may show a different side - a little more tense side - of life in the Badger state?
Where's the metric about how old your car battery is? Worrying that your battery won't turn over on a frigid January morning can be pretty stressful.
The confidence to know when to pack away winter clothes should be a key metric as well. It's pretty stressful to stand in front of the closet in the middle of April, wondering if it's safe to pack away the parka and the moon boots and the heavy sweaters. (Not the summer sweaters, of course, because, being Wisconsin, we need a separate category for sweaters for warm weather.) Will there be another cold spell? Will tomorrow bring 6 inches of snow or 85 degrees and sunshine? And if it's the latter, will you be able to find your flip-flops and favorite shorts? Summer's too short to miss a second.
And don't forget stressing about water temperature. Has the lake warmed up enough to enjoy a dip without your lips turning blue? Unless you are ice fishing, in which case you really ought to be stressing about how deep the ice is.
And ditto stressing over beer temperature: Has the beer been in the beer fridge long enough to chill sufficiently? Or, if you're at the lake, has it been iced down in the beer cooler long enough?
Wait - you're already in the middle of the lake when you realize someone forgot to fill the beer cooler?
Now that's stress that only a true Wisconsinite can understand.
- Mary Jane Grenzow is editor of the Monroe Times.
She can be reached at
editor@themonroetimes.com.
Of course Wisconsin is less stressed out than other states. We knew that, right? Look around. Picture those bucolic images of black and white cows dotting the lush green, rolling hillsides in the south or the thousands of crystal clear lakes carved out among the pine and Aspen stands of the Northwoods. Over the river and through the woods, we've got the life, hey?
WalletHub just put some numbers to what we know. Their rankings were based on 33 "key metrics." These metrics and Wisconsin's rank includes:
• Average hours worked per week - 34th
• Job security - 20th
• Median credit score - 38th
• Housing affordability - 41st
• Percent of population living below poverty line - 34th
• Crime rate per capita - 37th
Based on these findings, the three worst places for stress are Alabama, followed by Louisiana and Mississippi.
The top three places, ranking 49, 50 and 51 (Washington D.C. was included in the survey) were Iowa, North Dakota and Minnesota.
It seems us non-Southern folk fare well in these types of tests. South Dakota was right in there at No. 48, followed by Utah and Nebraska.
It must be the ice water in our veins that keeps us perennially chilled out.
Sure, all those "key metrics" are important. They show that here in Wisconsin, we have jobs with some level of security that pay enough that we're able to pay our bills. Almost two-thirds of us are living above the poverty line - kind of shocking that is considered "good" but it is - and we're fairly stable. And relatively low-crime.
But are our lives really that stress-free? Doesn't it seem like there's a few other key metrics we're missing that may show a different side - a little more tense side - of life in the Badger state?
Where's the metric about how old your car battery is? Worrying that your battery won't turn over on a frigid January morning can be pretty stressful.
The confidence to know when to pack away winter clothes should be a key metric as well. It's pretty stressful to stand in front of the closet in the middle of April, wondering if it's safe to pack away the parka and the moon boots and the heavy sweaters. (Not the summer sweaters, of course, because, being Wisconsin, we need a separate category for sweaters for warm weather.) Will there be another cold spell? Will tomorrow bring 6 inches of snow or 85 degrees and sunshine? And if it's the latter, will you be able to find your flip-flops and favorite shorts? Summer's too short to miss a second.
And don't forget stressing about water temperature. Has the lake warmed up enough to enjoy a dip without your lips turning blue? Unless you are ice fishing, in which case you really ought to be stressing about how deep the ice is.
And ditto stressing over beer temperature: Has the beer been in the beer fridge long enough to chill sufficiently? Or, if you're at the lake, has it been iced down in the beer cooler long enough?
Wait - you're already in the middle of the lake when you realize someone forgot to fill the beer cooler?
Now that's stress that only a true Wisconsinite can understand.
- Mary Jane Grenzow is editor of the Monroe Times.
She can be reached at
editor@themonroetimes.com.
