By Erik Bascome
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
(TNS)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — WalletHub, an online financial advisory site, last week released a new study, Hardest-Working States in America, with first place representing the hardest-working state and 50th representing the least hard-working.
“It’s undeniable that America has fostered a culture of hard work, with people working longer hours than residents of other developed countries and often leaving vacation time on the table. Working hard is commendable, 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,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo.
New York ranked 46th overall, a shocking result that placed it as the fifth-least hard-working state in the country, above only Nevada (47th), Rhode Island (48th), West Virginia (49th) and Michigan (50th).
Those metrics included direct work factors, like employment rate, average workweek hours, share of households where no adults work, share of workers leaving vacation time unused, share of engaged workers and idle youth, and indirect work factors, like average commute time, share of workers with multiple jobs, annual volunteer hours per resident and average leisure time spent per day.
New York ranked 49th in direct work factors and 21st in indirect work factors, but with indirect work factors being weighed less than direct work factors, ranking 21st in indirect work factors was not enough to pull New York up from the bottom of the list.
North Dakota ranked as the hardest-working state in the country, followed by Alaska, South Dakota, Texas and Hawaii.
“North Dakota is the hardest-working state, in part because it has the third-highest employment rate in the country, at nearly 98%. Plus, workers ages 16 to 64 work an average of 39.6 hours per week—the fourth-most in the country. People in the Roughrider State don’t take a lot of time for themselves outside of work, either, as they have the 11th-lowest amount of leisure time per day. In addition, 33.5% of workers leave some vacation time unused, the second-highest percentage,” Lupo said.
Photo credit: gorodenkoff/iStock
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© 2025 Staten Island Advance, N.Y.. Visit www.silive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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