With March 1 being Employee Appreciation Day and Americans working an average of 1,811 hours per year, more than people in most other industrialized countries, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Hardest-Working Cities in America, as well as expert commentary, to celebrate those who contribute the most to our economy.
In order to determine where Americans work the hardest, WalletHub compared the 116 largest cities across 11 key metrics. The data set ranges from the employment rate to average weekly work hours to the share of workers with multiple jobs.
| Top 20 Hardest-Working Cities in America | |
| 1. Washington, DC | 11. Sioux Falls, SD |
| 2. Irving, TX | 12. Corpus Christi, TX |
| 3. Cheyenne, WY | 13. Plano, TX |
| 4. Virginia Beach, VA | 14. Fort Worth, TX |
| 5. Anchorage, AK | 15. Arlington, TX |
| 6. Norfolk, VA | 16. Chesapeake, VA |
| 7. Dallas, TX | 17. Aurora, CO |
| 8. San Francisco, CA | 18. Laredo, TX |
| 9. Denver, CO | 19. Garland, TX |
| 10. Austin, TX | 20. Nashville, TN |
Key Stats
- Irving, Texas, has the lowest share of households where no adults work, which is 3.6 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest.
- New York City has the longest average commute time, which is 2.6 times longer than in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Fargo, North Dakota, the cities with the shortest.
- Baltimore contributes the most annual volunteer hours per resident, which is 5.9 times more than in Jacksonville, Florida, the city that contributes the fewest.
- Boston, Massachusetts, has the lowest share of idle youth 16-24-years-old, which is 2.8 times lower than in Memphis, Tennessee, the city with the highest.
