Texas named fourth hardest working state in America

Reprinted with permission from WalletHub

Americans are hard workers, putting in an average of nearly 1,780 hours per year as of 2019, according to the World Economic Forum. That’s about 390 hours per year more than Germans work, but about 360 fewer than Mexicans do. Of course, fewer Americans have the chance to work this year due to the massive unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a recent Yale study found that even when there were increased benefits for the unemployed, that didn’t disincentivize Americans to work.

Even when given the chance to not work as hard, many Americans won’t. In fact, the average American only uses 54% of their available vacation time. However, while it may seem as if workers are happily pursuing the American Dream, many individuals’ reasons for working hard may not be so pleasant. Some fear that if they take time off they will look less dedicated to the job than other employees, risking a layoff. Others worry about falling behind on their work or are concerned that the normal workflow will not be able to function without them.

It is possible to work hard without overdoing it, though. Hard work is key to success, and the people of some states understand that better than others. To determine where Americans work the hardest, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 10 key indicators. They range from average workweek hours to share of workers with multiple jobs to annual volunteer hours per resident. Read on for the results, insight from a panel of experts, and a full description of our methodology.