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Benzinga

Adrian Volenik

North Dakota And Alaska Earn Spots As Hardest-Working States. California Places 45th, New York 46th And Michigan Is The Lowest-Ranked

EA SPORTS Alaska Michigan North Dakota California New York WalletHub Chip Lupo America United States

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Americans work more hours than people in many other developed countries, and a new WalletHub study shows that people in some U.S. states are working especially hard—even when they don't have to.

Where Americans Work The Hardest

WalletHub compared all 50 states using 10 metrics, including average workweek hours, employment rates, number of residents with multiple jobs, and volunteer time. The goal was to find which states work the hardest overall.

North Dakota came in first. According to the report, workers in North Dakota clock 39.6 hours per week on average, the fourth-highest in the country. The state also has one of the highest employment rates and one of the lowest shares of young adults who aren’t working or in school. Plus, over 33% of workers in the state leave some of their vacation time unused—the second-highest rate in the country.

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“Working hard is commendable,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said, “but people in the hardest-working states may need to consider taking a break once in a while, as a lack of leisure time can have a negative impact on people's physical and mental health.”

Alaska ranked second overall. People there work an average of 41.6 hours per week—the highest in the nation. The state also has a high share of workers with more than one job and a significant portion who don’t use all of their paid time off. Alaska was the only state where the average workweek exceeded 40 hours.

South Dakota placed third. It has the highest employment rate in the U.S. and one of the lowest percentages of “idle youth,” defined as young adults who are neither in school nor employed. About 6.1% of South Dakotans have multiple jobs, which the report suggests might be due to low wages from primary jobs.

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Texas and Hawaii rounded out the top five. Hawaii ranked especially high in indirect work factors like volunteering and youth engagement.

“It's undeniable that America has fostered a culture of hard work,” Lupo said. “With people working longer hours than residents of other developed countries and often leaving vacation time on the table.”

Meanwhile, California ranked 45th, largely due to shorter average workweeks and lower employment rates. New York ranked 46th, and Michigan came in last at 50th. Michigan had the lowest total score and ranked dead last in direct work factors like work hours and job engagement.

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