15 Hardest-Working Cities in America: 2022

Slideshow March 03, 2022 at 04:38 PM

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Related: 12 Hardest-Working States in America: 2021

Many Americans view hard work as the path to achieving the American dream, according to a new report from WalletHub, a personal finance website. And work hard they do. The average U.S. worker puts in more hours on the job than their counterparts in a number of other industrialized countries, research from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows: 1,767 hours per year, or 169 hours more than the average worker in Japan, 400 more than in the U.K. and 435 more than in Germany. WalletHub noted that during the pandemic, many people have adapted to work from home, which can extend work hours even further. WalletHub sought to determine where the hardest-working Americans live. Researchers compared 116 of the most populated cities across two key dimensions, using 11 metrics — "direct work factors":

Average workweek.
Employment rate.
Share of households where no adults work.
Share of workers leaving vacation time unused.
Share of engaged workers.
Idle youth (16-24).

And "indirect work factors":

Average commute time.
Share of workers with multiple jobs.
Annual volunteer hours per resident.
Share of residents who participate in local groups or organizations.
Average leisure time spent per day.

They graded each metric on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the hardest-working. They then determined each city's weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank the sample. For the sample, researchers ensured that at least one city from each of the 50 states was represented. Each ranked entry refers to the city proper and excludes the surrounding metro area. See the gallery above for the 15 hardest-working cities in the U.S.

Michael S. Fischer

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