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Photo Credit: Getty Images
A lot of Americans see hard work as the path to achieving the American dream, so they’re willing to put the effort in. Research shows the average U.S. worker puts in 1,799 hours a year - which is 188 hours more than the average in Japan, 275 more than the U.K. and 456 more than Germany. But it turns out, the work ethic is stronger in some parts of the country than others and a new report highlights where they are.
- WalletHub’s annual list of the Hardest-Working Cities in the U.S. has just come out.
- They ranked the 166 biggest cities in the country on 11 key metrics in two main areas:
- Direct work factors, including average work week hours, employment rate and number of workers leaving vacation time on the table.
- Indirect work factors, including commute time, workers with multiple jobs and leisure time spent per day.
- So, what is the hardest-working city in 2025? Anchorage, Alaska, which comes in second for direct work factors and 15th for indirect.
- At the bottom of the list is Burlington, Vermont, making it the least hard-working city.
The 10 Hardest-Working Cities in the U.S.
(Check out the complete ranking here)
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Washington, D.C.
- Irving, Texas
- Dallas, Texas
- Cheyenne, Wyoming
- Austin, Texas
- Denver, Colorado
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- San Francisco, California
- Arlington, Texas
Source: WalletHub