Hardest-Working States in America (2026)

Americans are hard workers, putting in an average of 1,800 hours per year, according to the World Economic Forum. That’s 468 hours per year more than Germans work, but 405 fewer than Mexicans do, for example.

Even when given the chance to take time off, many Americans won’t, as nearly half of workers don't expect to use all of their allotted vacation days. It is possible to work hard without overdoing it, though. Hard work is key to success, and the residents 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 the share of workers with multiple jobs to the average leisure time spent per day.

Main Findings

Hardest-Working States in the U.S.

Notes: *No. 1 = Hardest Working

With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

In-Depth Look at the Hardest-Working States

South Dakota

South Dakota is the hardest-working state, in part because 6.5% of workers have multiple jobs, the 11th-highest percentage in the country. Although this may not be an ideal situation, indicating that people’s main jobs are not paying them enough, it’s still a testament to how hard South Dakota residents are willing to work.

In addition, South Dakota has the fifth-lowest share of “idle youth” – people ages 18 to 24 who are not in school, are not working and have no school experience beyond a high school diploma. This shows that young adults are actively trying to advance their education or career paths.

Finally, hard work continues to define South Dakotans, who also boast the highest employment rate in the country, at nearly 98%.

North Dakota

North Dakota ranks second among the hardest-working states, in part because it has the third-highest employment rate in the country, over 97%. Plus, workers ages 16 to 64 work an average of 39.4 hours per week – the fifth-most in the country.

People in the Roughrider State are also more likely to juggle multiple jobs, as North Dakota has the fourth-highest share of workers with multiple jobs. In addition, 33.5% of workers leave some vacation time unused, the second-highest percentage.

To top things off, both adults and young people stay busy in North Dakota. The state has the eighth-lowest share of households where no adults work, and the second-lowest share of people ages 18 to 24 with no degree beyond a high school diploma who are not in school and not working.

Alaska

Alaska has the third-hardest-working residents in the country. The average Alaskan worker between the ages of 16 and 64 works 41.4 hours per week, the highest number of hours in the country. This is significant because Alaska is the only state where the average exceeds 40 hours per week. For comparison, people in the District of Columbia work an average of 40 hours per week, but Alaska exceeds that by 1.4 hours.

In addition, Alaska has the 12th-highest share of workers who leave some vacation time unused, at 27.5%. It also has the 12th-highest share of workers who have more than one job and the 10th-lowest share of households where no adults work.

The methodology can be found on the full version of the article on WalletHub.