#Stressed: Ranking all 50 states on frustrations about education

Whether it’s teachers taking to social media about their frustrations over their jobs or students stressed out about getting good grades, there are countless reasons why one would use Twitter to express their concerns on education.

In March, the American Psychological Association found that the majority of adults reported increased levels of stress in 2022, specifically in regard to political polarization, inflation and widespread violence. If you were to spend at least five minutes on Twitter, you’d find that to be true as well.

According to an October report from PlushCare, a virtual healthcare company, Montana is the most stressed-out state when it comes to education based on an analysis of four million tweets.

“Anybody who has dialed into Twitter lately will have got an eyeful of America’s state of mind,” the report reads. “Twitter is the place where users go to shout when there’s no one else around to listen.”

Using a stress-detection tool from Wolverhampton University, the researchers calculated the percentage of tweets that were indicative of stress in every state. According to the analysis, 48.56% of tweets among Montana residents related to education are stressed. “The added pressure of Covid-related school closures and reopening strategies has impacted parents, staff, and pupils alike,” the report reads.

Conversely, South Carolina is the least-stressed state with only 37.38% of tweets indicating stress.

Here’s how each state ranks on stress over education:

1. Montana: 48.65%
2. South Dakota: 47.31%
3. Massachusetts: 45.60%
4. Wyoming: 45.19%
5. Delaware: 44.42%
6. New Jersey: 44.42%
7. Oregon: 44.15%
8. Maine: 43.94%
9. Iowa: 43.86%
10. California: 43.62%
11. Idaho: 43.38%
12. Rhode Island: 43.37%
13. Utah: 43.34%
14. Nevada: 43.21%
15. Illinois: 43.18%
16. West Virginia: 43.18%
17. Arizona: 43.10%
18. Washington: 43.05%
19. Ohio: 42.86%
20. Hawaii: 42.82%
21. Indiana: 42.70%
22. New Mexico: 42.58%
23. Nebraska: 42.54%
24. Kentucky: 42.22%
25. Minnesota: 41.90%
26. Vermont: 41.83%
27. Colorado: 41.72%
28. Michigan: 41.66%
29. Alaska: 41.53%
30. Maryland: 41.53%
31. Wisconsin: 41.04%
32. Connecticut: 41.02%
33. Tennessee: 40.96%
34. Oklahoma: 40.91%
35. Pennsylvania: 40.69%
36. Florida: 40.65%
37. Virginia: 40.48%
38. New York: 40.47%
39. Alabama: 40.03%
40. North Carolina: 39.87%
41. Arkansas: 39.58%
42. Georgia: 39.55%
43. New Hampshire: 39.42%
44. Missouri: 39.33%
45. Kansas: 39.32%
46. Texas: 39.23%
47. Louisiana: 38.95%
48. North Dakota: 38.40%
49. Mississippi: 38.09%
50. South Carolina: 37.38%

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