The Hardest Working Cities in the U.S.

The Hardest Working Cities in the U.S.

With March 3 being Employee Appreciation Day and Americans working an average of 1,791 hours per year, much more than people in many other industrialized countries, WalletHub has released its report on 2023’s Hardest-Working Cities in America. In order to determine where Americans work the hardest, WalletHub compared the 116 largest cities across 11 key metrics. The data set ranges from employment rate to average hours worked per week to share of workers with multiple jobs.

Top 20 Hardest-Working Cities in America

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Anchorage, AK
3. Irving, TX
4. Virginia Beach, VA
5. Washington, DC
6. Sioux Falls, SD
7. Norfolk, VA
8. Cheyenne, WY
9. Dallas, TX
10. Austin, TX
11. Nashville, TN
12. Plano, TX
13. Chesapeake, VA
14. Billings, MT
15. Chandler, AZ
16. Denver, CO
17. Corpus Christi, TX
18. Scottsdale, AZ
19. Fort Worth, TX
20. Garland, TX

Key Stats

  • Irving, Texas, has the lowest share of households where no adults work, 11.04 percent, which is 3.7 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 40.57 percent.
  • New York City has the longest average commute time, 41.40 minutes, which is 2.8 times longer than in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the city with the shortest at 15.00 minutes.
  • Baltimore contributes the most annual volunteer hours per resident, 45.10, which is 5.7 times more than in Jacksonville, Florida, the city that contributes the fewest at 7.89.
  • San Jose, California, has the lowest share of idle youth 16-24-years-old, 7.00 percent, which is 2.8 times lower than in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the city with the highest at 19.70 percent.