Background: Increasing heat waves as a consequence of climate change and heat stress within urban heat islands require appropriate strategies for the prevention of heat-related illnesses. Identification of risk areas or groups at risk enables more targeted prevention. Objectives: For the determination of risk areas and risk groups, climatic, city-structural and sociodemographic characteristics, which are associated with a strong subjective heat stress in the district during the summer heat, are determined using the example of the capital city of Dresden. Materials and methods: The characteristics and their values are determined on the basis of the data set for the “Meinungsumfrage zum Klimawandel in Dresden 2017” (poll on climate change in Dresden in 2017). With a sample of N = 2045 the analysis is carried out using variance analysis. Results: The highest levels of heat stress are associated with the traits “old age (75+)”, “very poor health”, “high social burden”, “low neighborhood greening” and “low numbers of nearby public parks”. For the degree of warming in the district, the highest heat stress is at a medium value. Conclusions: A determination of risk areas on the basis of the degree of warming does not seem sufficient. City-structural conditions and sociodemographic characteristics of the inhabitants of the area should also be take into account.