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Which states are the hardest-working?

Tiffany Hudson

MIAMI, FL - FEBRUARY 09: Lorena Jofre does work at her desk at Wilson, Washburn & Forster Insurance company on February 9, 2018 in Miami, Florida. Lorena Jofre is one of approximately 800,000 immigrants that fall under the category of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), who are people who were brought to this country illegally as children (also known as DREAMers). Lorena was brought to the U.S. from Chile when she was 10 years old, works a full-time job and is hoping that Democrats and Republicans will pass legislation that will give her legal protection to remain in the United States. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — If you live in Alaska, your workdays might be a bit longer and there’s less time for leisure, according to a new study on the hardest-working states in the U.S.

WalletHub compared several factors including the average hours in a workweek, the amount of vacation time left unused and average commute time.


They found that Alaska had the highest average work week hours and lowest average leisure time of all 50 states surveyed. The state is known for its labor-intensive industries like fishing and mining which can require longer hours than office jobs more common in other states.

The full top 10 list includes:

  1. Alaska
  2. North Dakota
  3. Nebraska
  4. South Dakota
  5. Texas
  6. Wyoming
  7. Oklahoma
  8. Virginia
  9. New Hampshire
  10. Kansas
Source: WalletHub

When it comes to the states that are the least hard-working, those states were more likely to have shorter workweeks and more leisure time spent per day.

The 10 least hard-working states in the country (ranked 41-50) includes:

  1. Massachusetts
  2. New Jersey
  3. Illinois
  4. Oregon
  5. Michigan
  6. Rhode Island
  7. Connecticut
  8. New York
  9. West Virginia
  10. New Mexico

WalletHub used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and other organizations to calculate their criteria which made a state more or less hard-working

Most Americans work more than 8 hours a day. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average American works 8.29 hours a day.

One concern WalletHub addresses in its results is that you can work too hard and leisure time is important.

Gallup found that 61% of women and 52% of men felt stressed on a typical day, before the pandemic.

Burnout among employees is also rising with COVID-19 influencing growing stress and anxiety related to work. The job aggregator website Indeed found that 67% of all workers believe their burnout worsened during the pandemic.

WalletHub does stress it is possible to work hard and not be burned out.

When asked what that might look in the post-pandemic workplace, Josh Congdon-Hohman, College of the Holy Cross Associate Professor of Economics, stated to WalletHub changes will need to be made.

“Employers will need to strike a balance between workplace needs and worker needs. Though employers and employees may want to return to pre-pandemic times, the threat from the virus and new variants, along with uncertainty for those who depend on regular child care from providers or schools, will likely mean differences in how we work together, where we work, and how we get things done,” Congdon-Hohman said.