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Stress by state: what the CDC data shows

Stress by state and rage rooms

West Virginia has the highest rate of frequent mental distress, at 22.9% of adults, and Washington DC the lowest, at 13.7%. The national figure is 16.8%. This page ranks the states on three CDC measures and shows how many rage rooms are listed in each.

On a combined score of frequent mental distress, short sleep and depression, West Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee rank highest, and Nebraska ranks lowest of the 48 states and DC with data.

Frequent mental distress: highest and lowest states

Share of adults who report poor mental health on 14 or more of the past 30 days. Dashed line is the US figure.

Frequent mental distress: highest and lowest statesBar chart of the eight states with the highest and the eight with the lowest share of adults reporting frequent mental distress. West Virginia is highest at 22.9 percent and Washington DC lowest at 13.7 percent. The US figure is 16.8 percent.0%5%10%15%20%25%West VirginiaWest Virginia: 22.9%LouisianaLouisiana: 20.2%TennesseeTennessee: 20.2%MaineMaine: 19.6%ArkansasArkansas: 19.5%NevadaNevada: 19.2%MichiganMichigan: 18.8%OhioOhio: 18.6%HawaiiHawaii: 15.9%New YorkNew York: 15.9%MinnesotaMinnesota: 15.9%MarylandMaryland: 15.7%New JerseyNew Jersey: 15.6%NebraskaNebraska: 14.8%North DakotaNorth Dakota: 14.7%Washington DCWashington DC: 13.7%US 16.8%22.9%20.2%20.2%19.6%19.5%19.2%18.8%18.6%15.9%15.9%15.9%15.7%15.6%14.8%14.7%13.7%
Source: CDC PLACES, 2025 release

How the states compare

Rank 1 is the highest combined score. Each state name links to its rage room listings. Figures are age-adjusted CDC estimates for adults.

RankStateMental distressShort sleepDepressionScoreRage rooms
1West Virginia22.9%42.0%32.0%2.651
2Louisiana20.2%40.9%27.2%1.495
3Tennessee20.2%39.1%29.0%1.497
4Arkansas19.5%39.1%25.3%0.973
5Ohio18.6%38.9%26.2%0.859
6Maine19.6%34.0%28.4%0.802
7Oklahoma18.6%37.6%26.0%0.704
8Alabama18.2%40.1%24.1%0.686
RankStateMental distressShort sleepDepressionScoreRage rooms
9Indiana18.4%38.0%25.6%0.666
10Michigan18.8%35.8%26.5%0.629
11Nevada19.2%40.5%20.9%0.613
12Missouri18.5%37.6%25.1%0.596
13Oregon18.6%31.6%27.9%0.304
14Mississippi18.2%39.4%20.1%0.211
15Montana18.5%32.5%25.9%0.172
16Hawaii15.9%47.0%17.0%0.161
RankStateMental distressShort sleepDepressionScoreRage rooms
17Rhode Island17.6%36.1%23.9%0.130
18South Carolina17.5%36.8%23.1%0.104
19Utah17.0%34.0%26.9%0.104
20North Carolina17.3%35.1%24.8%0.069
21Texas17.1%38.6%21.2%0.0123
22Massachusetts17.1%34.5%24.4%-0.086
23Georgia17.4%38.9%19.2%-0.1011
24Vermont17.4%30.0%27.8%-0.121
RankStateMental distressShort sleepDepressionScoreRage rooms
25Delaware16.8%37.0%22.1%-0.131
26Virginia16.6%36.7%22.3%-0.186
27New Mexico17.1%33.9%23.9%-0.191
28Washington17.0%32.4%25.5%-0.204
29Idaho16.9%33.5%24.3%-0.231
30Connecticut16.7%36.7%21.3%-0.262
31Florida17.3%38.8%17.9%-0.2614
32New Hampshire16.6%34.0%23.7%-0.312
RankStateMental distressShort sleepDepressionScoreRage rooms
33Wisconsin16.5%33.7%24.0%-0.336
34California16.9%35.6%20.5%-0.4015
35Kansas16.7%35.3%21.3%-0.402
36Iowa17.3%33.6%21.5%-0.425
37Wyoming16.8%33.6%22.4%-0.431
38Maryland15.7%38.3%19.9%-0.454
39Illinois16.3%36.2%20.3%-0.495
40Alaska16.4%35.3%20.8%-0.510
RankStateMental distressShort sleepDepressionScoreRage rooms
41Arizona16.2%36.2%20.1%-0.535
42New York15.9%38.9%18.0%-0.5410
43Colorado16.4%31.2%22.9%-0.715
44Minnesota15.9%30.0%25.1%-0.712
45New Jersey15.6%38.4%15.7%-0.885
46South Dakota16.3%30.7%21.9%-0.881
47North Dakota14.7%33.7%21.7%-0.941
48Washington DC13.7%32.8%21.0%-1.310
RankStateMental distressShort sleepDepressionScoreRage rooms
49Nebraska14.8%32.1%18.7%-1.383
No dataKentuckyNo data40.6%No dataNo data1
No dataPennsylvaniaNo data39.2%No dataNo data6

Kentucky and Pennsylvania aren't ranked. The CDC published short sleep estimates for them in this release but no frequent mental distress or depression estimates.

What the three measures mean

  • Frequent mental distress: adults who say their mental health wasn't good on 14 or more of the past 30 days (survey year 2023). National figure 16.8%.
  • Short sleep: adults who sleep less than 7 hours on average (survey year 2022). National figure 36.9%.
  • Depression: adults who say a health professional has told them they have a depressive disorder (survey year 2023). National figure 21.4%.

Short sleep and frequent mental distress by state

Each dot is a state. The two measures tend to rise together (correlation 0.38), which shows association, not cause.

Short sleep against frequent mental distress, by stateScatter chart of 49 states and DC. States where more adults sleep less than seven hours also tend to report more frequent mental distress, with a correlation of 0.38.28%32%36%40%44%12%16%20%24%Adults sleeping less than 7 hoursFrequent mental distressWest Virginia: 42% short sleep, 22.9% frequent mental distressLouisiana: 40.9% short sleep, 20.2% frequent mental distressTennessee: 39.1% short sleep, 20.2% frequent mental distressArkansas: 39.1% short sleep, 19.5% frequent mental distressOhio: 38.9% short sleep, 18.6% frequent mental distressMaine: 34% short sleep, 19.6% frequent mental distressOklahoma: 37.6% short sleep, 18.6% frequent mental distressAlabama: 40.1% short sleep, 18.2% frequent mental distressIndiana: 38% short sleep, 18.4% frequent mental distressMichigan: 35.8% short sleep, 18.8% frequent mental distressNevada: 40.5% short sleep, 19.2% frequent mental distressMissouri: 37.6% short sleep, 18.5% frequent mental distressOregon: 31.6% short sleep, 18.6% frequent mental distressMississippi: 39.4% short sleep, 18.2% frequent mental distressMontana: 32.5% short sleep, 18.5% frequent mental distressHawaii: 47% short sleep, 15.9% frequent mental distressRhode Island: 36.1% short sleep, 17.6% frequent mental distressSouth Carolina: 36.8% short sleep, 17.5% frequent mental distressUtah: 34% short sleep, 17% frequent mental distressNorth Carolina: 35.1% short sleep, 17.3% frequent mental distressTexas: 38.6% short sleep, 17.1% frequent mental distressMassachusetts: 34.5% short sleep, 17.1% frequent mental distressGeorgia: 38.9% short sleep, 17.4% frequent mental distressVermont: 30% short sleep, 17.4% frequent mental distressDelaware: 37% short sleep, 16.8% frequent mental distressVirginia: 36.7% short sleep, 16.6% frequent mental distressNew Mexico: 33.9% short sleep, 17.1% frequent mental distressWashington: 32.4% short sleep, 17% frequent mental distressIdaho: 33.5% short sleep, 16.9% frequent mental distressConnecticut: 36.7% short sleep, 16.7% frequent mental distressFlorida: 38.8% short sleep, 17.3% frequent mental distressNew Hampshire: 34% short sleep, 16.6% frequent mental distressWisconsin: 33.7% short sleep, 16.5% frequent mental distressCalifornia: 35.6% short sleep, 16.9% frequent mental distressKansas: 35.3% short sleep, 16.7% frequent mental distressIowa: 33.6% short sleep, 17.3% frequent mental distressWyoming: 33.6% short sleep, 16.8% frequent mental distressMaryland: 38.3% short sleep, 15.7% frequent mental distressIllinois: 36.2% short sleep, 16.3% frequent mental distressAlaska: 35.3% short sleep, 16.4% frequent mental distressArizona: 36.2% short sleep, 16.2% frequent mental distressNew York: 38.9% short sleep, 15.9% frequent mental distressColorado: 31.2% short sleep, 16.4% frequent mental distressMinnesota: 30% short sleep, 15.9% frequent mental distressNew Jersey: 38.4% short sleep, 15.6% frequent mental distressSouth Dakota: 30.7% short sleep, 16.3% frequent mental distressNorth Dakota: 33.7% short sleep, 14.7% frequent mental distressWashington DC: 32.8% short sleep, 13.7% frequent mental distressNebraska: 32.1% short sleep, 14.8% frequent mental distressWVLATNHIVTNDDC
Source: CDC PLACES, 2025 release

How the combined score works

Each state's rate on each measure is compared with the average across the states, then the three results are averaged. A score above zero means higher than the typical state, and below zero means lower. State figures are the county estimates weighted by county population, so they cover every resident.

What this doesn't tell you

The CDC figures are modelled estimates built from a national health survey, not counts of people, and they describe adults in a whole state. They can't say what any one person feels, and differences of a point or two between neighboring states are within the margin of error. Nothing here is medical advice.

Where to blow off steam

Texas lists the most rage rooms, with 23. To find the closest venue to you, use rage rooms near me, or compare states by size on the rage rooms per capita page. The national average is 0.069 rage rooms per 100,000 residents.

Download the data

The tables on this page are free to use with credit to Rageroomly. Download stress by state (CSV) or the city stress snapshot (CSV).

Questions about the data

Which state has the highest rate of frequent mental distress?

West Virginia has the highest rate in the CDC PLACES 2025 release, at 22.9% of adults, against 16.8% for the country. Washington DC has the lowest, at 13.7%.

How is the combined score worked out?

Each state's frequent mental distress, short sleep and depression rates are compared with the average across the states and averaged into one score. A score above zero means higher than the typical state on those three measures, and West Virginia ranks first at 2.65.

Is this a diagnosis or medical advice?

No. The figures are modelled estimates of how common each measure is among adults in a whole state. They say nothing about any one person, and they're not medical advice.

Do rage rooms reduce stress?

This page doesn't claim that. It shows where stress indicators run higher and where rage rooms are listed, so you can find one near you if you want to try it.

Why are Kentucky and Pennsylvania not ranked?

The CDC published short sleep estimates for both states in this release but no frequent mental distress or depression estimates, so a combined score wouldn't be comparable.

Sources