Chill Out! South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota’s Most Relaxed Cities

We're all looking for a good reason to kick back and chill out.

To point you in the right direction, Lawnstarter has compared the 500 biggest U.S. cities based on these eight categories to find 2024's Most Relaxed Cities:

MENTAL WELL-BEING
Depression Rate
Suicide Rate

MENTAL HEALTH BOOSTERS
Mental Health Providers
Beauty and Spa Businesses per Square Mile

PHYSICAL WELL-BEING
Life Expectancy
Leisure Physical Activity Rate
High Blood Pressure, Stroke, Binge Drinking, Smoking Rates

FINANCIAL WELL-BEING
Purchasing Power
Housing Affordability
Poverty Rate, Food Insecurity Rates

WORK STRESSORS
Average Workweek, Commute
Unemployment Rate

ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS
Weather Extremes
Air Quality
Traffic Fatalities

SOCIAL STRESSORS
Crime Index
Separation and Divorce Rate

RECREATION OPTIONS
Share of Land Used for Parks and Recreation
Number of Trails
Public Gardens
Yoga Studios

There is no shortage of 'chill places' in our next of the woods, including three Minnesota cities that landed in the Top 50:

16. Woodbury (Highest score: #6 nationally in Financial Well-Being)
27. Plymouth (Highest score: #5 nationally in Financial Well-Being)
48. Rochester (Highest score: #24 nationally in Work Stressors, #25 in Financial Well-Being)

Two other cities in the North Star State are among the Top 100 most relaxed in America.

96. Bloomington (Highest score: #49 nationally in Financial Well-Being)
97. Minneapolis (Highest score: #19 nationally in Recreation Options)

In South Dakota, the state's largest city made the cut.

60. Sioux Falls (Highest score: #20 nationally in Mental Well-Being)

Iowa was shut out of the Top 100, narrowly missing by one spot

101. Iowa City (Highest score: #6 nationally in Work Stressors)