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Chesterfield (in Derbyshire) takes the top spot as England’s most stressed area, based on new data from the UK government’s Office for National Statistics. Thanet and Norwich take second and third, respectively.
The new research has been unpicked by the CBD oil products company CBDfx, who took the data from the Office for National Statistics’ new edition of their health index, and picked three factors to measure ‘stress’ across all local authorities.
Stress is not an easy factor to measure or to define. In general terms, it is our body’s response to pressure. Different situations or life events can cause stress and it can occur when people experience something new or unexpected, especially ones that that threaten our sense of self.
The factors selected were the mental health of residents, feelings of anxiety, and life satisfaction. Each local authority was scored based on these factors, and the area with the lowest score was chosen as England’s most stressed area.
Chesterfield was afforded the worst score for stress with 79.4. The area scored just 74.6 for its mental health and 76.7 for anxiety, but its overall score is raised with a life satisfaction score of 87.0.
The Kent district of Thanet takes second in the list, with a stress score of 79.7. This is due to a score of 82.5 for mental health and 87.0 for life satisfaction, with the score being brought down with a poor number for feelings of anxiety with 69.7.
Norwich ranks third on the list, with a stress score of 81.8. It scores highest in the top ten for life satisfaction with 96.0, but the area’s score is dragged down with a poor score of 64.4 for anxiety and a score of 85.0 for mental health.
The Cumbria area of Barrow-in-Furness takes fourth place, coming in with a stress score of 83.0. This is due to a score of 82.6 for mental health, 82.0 for anxiety, and 84.4 for life satisfaction.
Rounding out the top five is Exeter, with the Devon area scoring 83.2 on the study’s stress score. It scored 84.4 for mental health, 79.4 for anxiety, and 85.9 for life satisfaction.
The top ten areas for stress are:
| Rank | Area Name | Mental health | Feelings of anxiety | Life satisfaction | 2021 Average Stress score (higher = better) |
| 1 | Chesterfield | 74.6 | 76.7 | 87.0 | 79.4 |
| 2 | Thanet | 82.5 | 69.7 | 87.0 | 79.7 |
| 3 | Norwich | 85.0 | 64.4 | 96.0 | 81.8 |
| 4 | Barrow-in-Furness | 82.6 | 82.0 | 84.4 | 83.0 |
| 5 | Exeter | 84.4 | 79.4 | 85.9 | 83.2 |
| 6 | Redditch | 89.3 | 86.9 | 74.2 | 83.5 |
| 7 | Lincoln | 81.4 | 83.9 | 88.1 | 84.4 |
| 8 | Newark and Sherwood | 98.0 | 80.2 | 76.9 | 85.0 |
| 9 | Bassetlaw | 91.8 | 84.6 | 80.6 | 85.7 |
| 10 | Preston | 95.3 | 76.7 | 87.0 | 86.3 |
In relation to the scores, a value of 100 is the national mean score.
The survey was run during the UK’s rising cost of living, which will affect some areas of England differently to others. The data for mental health was drawn from the UK GP Patient Survey. Feelings of anxiety were based on the average score of survey respondents to the Annual Population Survey, as was the factor for life satisfaction.