The Most Sleep-Deprived Cities in the US

In recent years, I have witnessed an explosive demand for products and resources aimed at improving health and well-being. As someone deeply interested in the wellness market, I’ve observed it becoming one of the fastest-growing consumer industries, while more individuals like myself seek out new products and services supporting wellness, from fitness to nutrition to mindfulness and mental health.

Consequences of Sleep Deprivation

But one of the most important components of health and wellness is also one of the most fundamental: sleep. Lower rates of sleep are associated with a number of health problems, including a weakened immune system, reduced memory and cognitive performance, and greater likelihood of injuries or accidents.

The CDC recommends that all adults get more than seven hours of sleep per night to help ensure good health. Only around two in three adults report meeting that threshold.

Critically, people who get less sleep tend to have more difficulty preventing and managing chronic health conditions. People who sleep less than seven hours are significantly more likely than those sleeping more than seven hours to have:

• Diabetes (11.1% vs 8.6%)
• Coronary heart disease (4.7% vs 3.4%)
• Obesity (33.0% vs 26.5%).

And mental health shows the relationship even more strongly: the rate of depression among insufficient sleepers is more than 1.5 times as high as the rate for sufficient sleepers (22.9% vs 14.6%).

Sleep Deprivation Demographics

And as with other health behaviors and conditions, quality sleep is uneven across different demographic categories. Around one-third of all adults get less than seven hours of sleep per night, but that figure varies according to factors like race and ethnicity as well as income level.

Nearly half of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (47.0%) are not getting enough sleep. Similarly, more than two in five Black Americans (43.5%) are sleep-deprived. These rates are far higher than the rates for Asian (30.5%), White (30.7%), and Hispanic (32.3%) Americans.

For the lowest-income Americans — those making less than $15,000 per year — 38% are sleeping less than seven hours on average. In contrast, of those on the higher end of the income spectrum making more than $50,000, only 30.8% are sleep-deprived.

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These demographic characteristics also help explain the locations where people are getting the least sleep.

Hawaii has the most residents receiving inadequate sleep (44%). This makes sense given it high population of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

Many of the other states with residents sleeping less are found in the Appalachian region — including West Virginia (41.5%), Kentucky (40.7%), and Tennessee (40.7%) — which has some of the lowest incomes of any part of the country.

At the local level, the majority of the most sleep-deprived cities are found in these states and in nearby parts of the South and Rust Belt regions.

The data used in this analysis is from the CDC’s PLACES: Local Data for Better Health 2021 Release.

To determine the most sleep-deprived locations in the US, researchers at HotDog.com calculated the proportion of adults who get less than the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep in a typical 24 hour period.

For additional context, researchers also calculated the proportion of adults who report various health conditions associated with insufficient sleep, including diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, and depression.

Cities Whose Residents Don’t Get Enough Sleep

Here are the most sleep-deprived cities in the US.

25. Columbus, OH

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 42.2%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 10.4%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 5.3%
• Share of adults with obesity: 36.7%
• Share of adults with depression: 21.9%

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24. Murfreesboro, TN

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 42.3%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 8.9%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 4.5%
• Share of adults with obesity: 36.1%
• Share of adults with depression: 27.8%

23. Fayetteville, NC

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 42.3%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 11.8%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 5.5%
• Share of adults with obesity: 34.3%
• Share of adults with depression: 22.6%

22. Montgomery, AL

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 42.6%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 14.2%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.5%
• Share of adults with obesity: 37.6%
• Share of adults with depression: 22.0%

21. Buffalo, NY

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 42.7%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 13.1%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.6%
• Share of adults with obesity: 37.2%
• Share of adults with depression: 21.4%

20. Beaumont, TX

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 42.8%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 14.1%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.3%
• Share of adults with obesity: 41.0%
• Share of adults with depression: 19.7%

19. Augusta, GA

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 42.8%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 14.4%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.7%
• Share of adults with obesity: 37.8%
• Share of adults with depression: 19.8%

18. Macon, GA

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 43.1%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 15.2%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 7.3%
• Share of adults with obesity: 38.4%
• Share of adults with depression: 21.3%

17. Newport News, VA

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 43.3%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 11.4%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 5.3%
• Share of adults with obesity: 38.3%
• Share of adults with depression: 19.8%

16. Toledo, OH

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 43.5%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 14.2%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 7.7%
• Share of adults with obesity: 39.5%
• Share of adults with depression: 24.4%

15. Jackson, MS

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 43.5%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 15.4%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.0%
• Share of adults with obesity: 43.4%
• Share of adults with depression: 20.1%

14. Miramar, FL

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 43.7%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 11.1%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 4.0%
• Share of adults with obesity: 32.2%
• Share of adults with depression: 16.0%

13. Rochester, NY

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 43.9%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 12.8%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.1%
• Share of adults with obesity: 37.8%
• Share of adults with depression: 22.1%

12. Clarksville, TN

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 44.0%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 10.1%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 4.6%
• Share of adults with obesity: 37.2%
• Share of adults with depression: 25.5%

11. Birmingham, AL

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 44.0%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 17.3%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 7.2%
• Share of adults with obesity: 39.6%
• Share of adults with depression: 21.0%

10. Baltimore, MD

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 44.1%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 12.9%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 5.7%
• Share of adults with obesity: 37.2%
• Share of adults with depression: 20.4%

9. Columbus, GA

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 44.1%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 13.7%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.4%
• Share of adults with obesity: 37.5%
• Share of adults with depression: 20.4%

8. Philadelphia, PA

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 45.1%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 12.6%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.0%
• Share of adults with obesity: 32.2%
• Share of adults with depression: 22.0%

7. Dayton, OH

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 45.7%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 16.5%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 8.0%
• Share of adults with obesity: 42.2%
• Share of adults with depression: 23.1%

6. Honolulu, HI

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 46.3%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 11.1%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 5.0%
• Share of adults with obesity: 22.4%
• Share of adults with depression: 12.7%

5. Miami Gardens, FL

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 46.5%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 16.2%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.2%
• Share of adults with obesity: 35.5%
• Share of adults with depression: 17.2%

4. Flint, MI

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 47.6%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 17.9%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 8.3%
• Share of adults with obesity: 49.0%
• Share of adults with depression: 23.8%

3. Memphis, TN

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 47.9%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 15.7%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 6.6%
• Share of adults with obesity: 40.3%
• Share of adults with depression: 22.2%

2. Cleveland, OH

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 50.2%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 16.6%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 8.3%
• Share of adults with obesity: 43.9%
• Share of adults with depression: 22.2%

1. Detroit, MI

• Share of adults getting <7 hours per night: 51.2%
• Share of adults with diabetes: 18.0%
• Share of adults with heart disease: 8.2%
• Share of adults with obesity: 49.0%
• Share of adults with depression: 19.6%

Methodology and Detailed Findings

The data used in this analysis is from the CDC’s PLACES: Local Data for Better Health 2021 Release.

To determine the most sleep-deprived locations in the US, researchers calculated the proportion of adults who get less than the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep in a typical 24 hour period.

For additional context, researchers also calculated the proportion of adults who report various health conditions associated with insufficient sleep, including diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, and depression. Due to data availability limitations, all rates shown are crude (non age-adjusted) rates.

Only cities with at least 100,000 residents were included in the analysis, and some cities and states with unavailable data from the CDC were excluded.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Iryna Kalamurza / Shutterstock

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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