From sleepless nights to financial worries, stress has become a daily reality for many Alabamians—and it shows in the data. A new 2025 WalletHub study confirms that Alabama ranks among the top 10 most stressed states in the U.S., placing 8th overall.

The study analyzed 40 key indicators of stress, including work hours, financial strain, family pressures, and health-related challenges. Alabama was one of six Southern states to appear in the top 10, underscoring the region’s ongoing struggle with mental health access, economic insecurity, and limited resources.

The report evaluated multiple stressors and revealed that residents of Alabama experience disproportionate levels of financial and health-related stress. Key findings include:

Key Stress Indicators for Alabama

• 3rd fewest average hours of sleep per night

• 2nd-fewest psychologists per capita

• 3rd lowest average credit scores in the U.S.

These factors contributed to the state’s high stress ranking, which reflects ongoing strain in daily life and long-term well-being.

Top 10 Most Stressed States in 2025

Source: WalletHub’s analysis of 40 stress-related metrics

Color Legend: 🟥 Very High | 🟧 High | 🟨 Moderate-High | 🟩 Moderate

Southern States Under Pressure

The Deep South remains a stress hotspot. Alabama joins Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida in the top 10, highlighting a regional trend shaped by long-standing challenges like limited access to mental health care, lower credit scores, and economic instability.

Solutions and Support: What’s Being Done

Despite the troubling statistics, Alabama is taking steps to reduce stress levels through statewide and community-based initiatives.

Statewide Crisis Support

The Alabama Crisis System of Care provides comprehensive mental health services, including:

• The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7

• Regional crisis centers for psychiatric evaluation and stabilization

• Mobile crisis teams for on-site intervention

These services aim to reduce emergency room visits and offer faster help to those in crisis.

Community and Campus Resources

Organizations and institutions across Alabama offer free or low-cost stress-reduction programs. Some examples include:

Healthy Habits for Everyday Stress

Alabamians can also manage stress through personal routines:

• Regular physical activity, like walking or biking

• Practicing relaxation techniques, including deep breathing and mindfulness

• Maintaining balanced sleep and nutrition

• Seeking out community support networks

About the Study

WalletHub’s 2025 report analyzed data from government and research sources, grouping indicators into four categories: work stress, money stress, family stress, and health & safety stress.

Sherri Blevins is a writer for Mountain Valley News and a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].

US immigration authorities have detained a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, campus officials confirmed on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the state’s flagship university said in a brief statement that a student was arrested “off campus” by federal immigration officials, but declined to comment further, citing privacy laws.

The US government’s justification for detaining the student was not immediately clear, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) did not respond to a request for comment late on Wednesday.

News of the arrest comes amid reports of the Trump administration increasingly targeting college students for arrest and deportation across the country, including people in the US on visas and permanent residents with green cards, raising alarms on campuses and in surrounding communities.

The Crimson White, a student newspaper at the University of Alabama, reported on the arrest, saying the targeted student was detained at their home early on Tuesday morning. The individual is Iranian and was in the US on a student visa and studying mechanical engineering, the newspaper said. The university’s College Democrats group said in a statement that Trump and Ice “have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA’s international community”.

It was not immediately clear on Wednesday evening if the arrested student had a lawyer.

Alex House, a university spokesperson, said its international student and scholar services center was available to assist students with concerns: “International students studying at the university are valued members of the campus community.”

But House’s statement added that the university “has and will continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities”.

The Alabama arrest was confirmed the same day news broke that Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University in Boston, was detained by federal immigration agents and taken to an Ice detention center in Louisiana. Her arrest appeared to be part of the US government’s crackdown on students with ties to pro-Palestinian activism on campus last year.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Ozturk was in the US on a visa and accused her of supporting Hamas, but did not provide evidence to support its claims. Media reports noted that Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and Turkish citizen, had in March 2024 co-written an opinion piece in the Tufts student newspaper, alongside three other authors, supporting calls for the university to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide”.

Ozturk’s arrest has sparked widespread outrage as video circulated showing masked officers, in plainclothes, approaching her on the street and taking her into custody. A 32-year-old software engineer whose surveillance camera recorded the arrest told the Associated Press it “looked like a kidnapping”.

The Massachusetts director of Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim civil rights group, said in a statement: “We unequivocally condemn the abduction of a young Muslim hijab-wearing scholar by masked federal agents in broad daylight. This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom.”

Ozturk’s lawyer told the New York Times she was heading out to break her Ramadan fast with friends when she was detained near her apartment.

Tufts’s president said the university “had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event”. The university was told the student’s visa was “terminated”, the president added.

Ice records suggested Ozturk was taken to Louisiana despite a judge ordering DHS to give advanced notice if officials sought to transfer her out of state.

DHS has also faced scrutiny over its efforts to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate, who is a green card holder. A US judge in Manhattan on Wednesday blocked immigration officials from detaining Yunseo Chung, a Columbia undergraduate, who is also a permanent resident facing threats of deportation for involvement in Gaza solidarity protests.

Maya Yang contributed reporting