Here are the states where millennial school employees suffer the most mental distress

It’s no surprise that the pandemic exacerbated the already lingering disparities in America’s education system. Teachers were already underpaid. Schools ran into issues with student behavior. Yet, one critical issue continues to worsen: mental health.

Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, are becoming the largest contributors to the workforce, such as education, and they need all the support they can get.

A 2021 report from the CDC Foundation, a nonprofit that encourages collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent and other organizations, found that 53% of teachers considered leaving the profession. Additionally, 37% reported symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety and 27% reported symptoms that aligned with clinical depression.

“Mental health resources and services are critically important for teachers and the entire school community to address mental health challenges created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report reads.

Unfortunately, this decline in mental health is also true for America’s millennials.

According to a recent report from Scholaroo, an organization that aids students in seeking scholarships, this mental distress among this generation has skyrocketed since the pandemic, and it varies in each state. For example, Arkansas has the highest rate of mental distress among this group at 23.60%.

“They [millennials] have experienced slower economic growth than their preceding and subsequent generations due to the multiple recessions that hit them at the highest points of their lifetimes,” the report reads. “With the rising cost of living and inflation, as well as the impact of a global pandemic, there are a number of challenges to US millennials that will influence where they live, work and dream.”

According to the data, Alaska has the lowest rate of mental distress among this group. See the complete rankings list below:

Best and worst states for millennials

1. Alaska
2. Illinois
3. Hawaii
4. South Dakota
5. Florida
6. California
7. North Dakota
8. New Mexico
9. New Jersey
10. Delaware
11. New York
12. North Carolina
13. Nebraska
14. Maryland
15. Texas
16. Idaho
17. Colorado
18. Wyoming
19. Virginia
20. Arizona
21. Rhode Island
22. Wisconsin
23. Minnesota
24. Maine
25. Massachusetts
26. Iowa
27. Connecticut
28. Oregon
29. Washington
30. Mississippi
31. Georgia
32. Montana
33. Kansas
34. Oklahoma
35. Pennsylvania
36. South Carolina
37. Utah
38. New Hampshire
39. Missouri
40. Indiana
41. Kentucky
42. Alabama
43. Ohio
44. Vermont
45. Michigan
46. Tennessee
47. Nevada
48. West Virginia
49. Louisiana
50. Arkansas