Unless you possess the mental strength of a Buddhist monk, or have the dosh to give up work and live the rest of your life on a quiet tropical island, stress is an unavoidable fact of modern life. But does where you live have an impact on your levels of stress? Researchers at office furniture company, Deskup seem to think so.
They looked into factors like health, anxiety levels, amount of exercise, substance misuse and crime rates across dozens of British cities to come up with a ‘stress score’ for each place and find out which one is the most plagued by tension, burnout and anxiety.
The most stressed UK city of all? Well, it’s not London, apparently – it’s York. The report says that York locals face high unemployment, the second lowest average disposable income in the country and is the sixth worst place for physical health conditions. All those things combined earned it the highest stress score of 55.25. In a little bit of positive news, though, York turned out to be one of the safest places in terms of crime rates.
All that said, different research from earlier this year declared York one of the happiest cities on the planet and the 13th best city in the world when it came to its environmental credentials – so we’ll take the findings with a pinch of salt. Also, York is one of Time Out’s top places to visit in 2025. You can find our pick of all the very best things to do there here.
Following close behind in the most stressed contest was Cambridge with a score of 53.78. It was named the worst city for physical health conditions, ranked second for the ‘most idle population’ and fifth for the worst access to green spaces.
A spokesperson from Deskup said: ‘Studies indicate that heightened stress levels often lead individuals to engage in unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking, and neglecting self-care. It is imperative to effectively address and manage stress to enhance our overall quality of life.
‘The research shows a clear correlation of how location, job and personal health can impact mental and physical health. It's crucial to have support systems in place.
‘Local authorities, employers, and society need to keep on fostering open discussions about mental health to alleviate this burden.’
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