These Are The Hardest-Working US States

This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, shows the U.S. states that work the hardest, as scored out of 100 by a Wallethub study conducted in July 2024.

Naturally trying to measure and compare “hard-work” requires a little bit of data analysis.

How Is Hard Work Quantified?

Here’s what Wallethub did. First they analyzed all states on 10 indicators and assigned them different weights.

These indicators are then divided into two categories. The main one, “Direct Work” contributes 80 points to the total score.

Meanwhile, “Indirect Work” indicators help the state achieve the last 20 points.

Clearly, states that score better on higher-weighted indicators end up with a higher overall score, as seen below.

Ranked: America’s Hardest-Working States

Wallethub states North Dakota is the hardest-working American state, giving it a rounded score of 67/100. The state’s 98% employment rate helped in securing first place.

Overall Rank
State
State Code
Total Score
1
North Dakota
ND
67
2
Alaska
AK
64
3
Nebraska
NE
60
4
Wyoming
WY
60
5
South Dakota
SD
60
6
Maryland
MD
58
7
Texas
TX
57
8
Colorado
CO
55
9
New Hampshire
NH
54
10
Kansas
KS
53
11
Virginia
VA
52
12
Oklahoma
OK
52
13
Georgia
GA
52
14
Hawaii
HI
51
15
Tennessee
TN
49
16
Mississippi
MS
49
17
Iowa
IA
48
18
Alabama
AL
47
19
Louisiana
LA
47
20
Missouri
MO
46
21
Minnesota
MN
46
22
Maine
ME
46
23
North Carolina
NC
45
24
Indiana
IN
45
25
Montana
MT
44
26
South Carolina
SC
44
27
Idaho
ID
44
28
Utah
UT
44
29
Arkansas
AR
43
30
Florida
FL
43
31
Vermont
VT
43
32
Arizona
AZ
41
33
Wisconsin
WI
41
34
Pennsylvania
PA
40
35
Washington
WA
40
36
Delaware
DE
40
37
Kentucky
KY
40
38
Massachusetts
MA
39
39
California
CA
38
40
Illinois
IL
38
41
Oregon
OR
38
42
Ohio
OH
37
43
New Jersey
NJ
37
44
Rhode Island
RI
37
45
Nevada
NV
37
46
Connecticut
CT
37
47
New Mexico
NM
35
48
Michigan
MI
34
49
New York
NY
34
50
West Virginia
WV
32

Note: Figures rounded.

Meanwhile, Alaska ranks second with 64 points, due to its average workweek crossing 41 hours. It’s the only state in the study which crossed the standard 40-hour metric.

And Nebraska comes in third with 60 points. Wallethub states that more than 7% of its workforce has multiple jobs, the third-highest of all states.

A quick overview of the map reveals that the strip of states in the center of the country are the hardest-working, with scores falling as one moves east and west respectively. Interestingly this is also America’s farming country, a demanding sector that requires long hours.

Another interesting phenomenon is how Alaska and North Dakota have high direct work ranks but are bottom of the pack for indirect work.

Overall Rank
State
Direct Work
Factors Rank
Indirect Work
Factors Rank
1
North Dakota
1
41
2
Alaska
2
34
3
Nebraska
5
5
4
Wyoming
6
2
5
South Dakota
3
26
6
Maryland
7
4
7
Texas
4
31
8
Colorado
9
7
9
New Hampshire
12
9
10
Kansas
10
25
11
Virginia
16
12
12
Oklahoma
8
44
13
Georgia
11
32
14
Hawaii
14
29
15
Tennessee
15
36
16
Mississippi
13
46
17
Iowa
18
24
18
Alabama
17
48
19
Louisiana
19
38
20
Missouri
24
20
21
Minnesota
26
8
22
Maine
33
1
23
North Carolina
23
30
24
Indiana
25
28
25
Montana
27
22
26
South Carolina
21
42
27
Idaho
30
6
28
Utah
35
3
29
Arkansas
20
50
30
Florida
22
47
31
Vermont
31
14
32
Arizona
28
39
33
Wisconsin
29
40
34
Pennsylvania
36
16
35
Washington
39
13
36
Delaware
32
37
37
Kentucky
34
35
38
Massachusetts
40
15
39
California
37
27
40
Illinois
42
19
41
Oregon
46
10
42
Ohio
43
21
43
New Jersey
45
17
44
Rhode Island
44
23
45
Nevada
38
43
46
Connecticut
49
11
47
New Mexico
41
45
48
Michigan
48
33
49
New York
50
18
50
West Virginia
47
49

However, Nebraska performs equally well in both categories. The Cornhusker state has a low share of idle-youth, and has the fifth-highest volunteer hours per capita in the country.

Interestingly, many of America’s hardest-working states have much lower cost of living requirements. See how the data shakes out in The Income an Individual Needs to Live Comfortably in the States.