While people across the U.S. work hard, the data shows that people in some cities are putting in more hours and taking less time off. WalletHub recently published a ranking of these towns.
Out of the top 25 list, Texas towns dominated more than a third of the list. However, just one city from the Lone Star State made it into the top five – Irving, Texas in the fifth spot. The other Texas cities in the top 25 are: Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, Arlington, Plano, Laredo and Garland.
Cheyenne, Wyo., landed in first place. It was followed by Anchorage, Alaska, in second, Washington, D.C. came in third and Sioux Falls, S.D., came in fourth.
According to WalletHub, Cheyenne nabbed the first-place spot “in large part because it ranks highest for average workweek length, with employees averaging 40.7 hours per week,” as well as its share of workers with multiple jobs and low leisure time. At the same time, WalletHub noted, that “it’s also important to avoid overwork and take some time to relax.”
Hard working Cheyenne residents have an easier chance to become “rich” in their state than in most other parts of the U.S. Last month, Audacy reported on another study that had Wyoming ranked near the bottom when it came to how much money it would need to be “rich” in every state at $210,500 annually.
Washington D.C. was at the very top of that list at $635,000, which means that hard-working people in the nation’s capital have even more incentive to keep up the grind. WalletHub said it was ranked the third most hard-working city in the country in part because it had the highest share of workers with unused vacation time at 64%. They also work the fourth-most hours per week on average.
“People in D.C. are willing to take relatively long commutes to work, at 30 minutes on average, which adds on to their workday, WalletHub added. And outside of work, nearly 31% of the District’s residents are members of local volunteer groups or organizations, places where they put in time without being paid.”
In order to identify which cities are working the hardest, WalletHub measured 116 of the country’s largest cities based on 11 key metrics. These included employment rates, average weekly work hours, the share of workers with multiple jobs and more.
Here’s the full top 25 hardest working U.S. cities list, per WalletHub:
1. Cheyenne, Wyo.
2. Anchorage, Alaska
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Sioux Falls, S.D.
5. Irving, Texas
6. Nashville, Tenn.
7. Dallas, Texas
8. San Francisco, Calif.
9. Denver, Colo.
10. Austin, Texas
11. Virginia Beach, Va.
12. Norfolk, Va.
13. Fort Worth, Texas
14. Corpus Christi, Texas
15. Arlington, Texas
16. Aurora, Colo.
17. Plano, Texas
18. Fremont, Calif.
19. Chandler, Ariz.
20. Chesapeake, Va.
21. Gilbert, Ariz.
22. Laredo, Texas
23. Manchester, N.H.
24. Garland, Texas
25. Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Many Americans see hard work as the key to achieving the American Dream,” said WalletHub. “In fact, we work so much that the average U.S. employee logs more hours on the job than workers in several other industrialized nations.”
That’s nearly 1,800 hours per year on average. Americans work 179 more hours than workers in Japan, 284 more than workers in the U.K., and 465 more than workers in Germany, WalletHub said. Remote work can make hours stretch even longer.
“Hard work is the backbone of America’s economy and a big reason why the country has become so successful, as Americans outwork people in many other developed economies,” said WalletHub analyist Chris Lupo. “In addition, between 40% and 64% of Americans leave at least some of their allotted vacation time on the table, depending on the city. While working long hours, minimizing time off, and having side jobs all lead to increased productivity, they can also have negative effects on people’s physical and mental health. It’s important for people to figure out how to work hard without overworking.”
As for cities that ranked low on the list, Burlington, Vt., came in last place. Detroit, Mich., Buffalo, N.Y., Newark, N.J., and Toledo, Ohio, rounded out the bottom five.