The Most Overworked Cities in the US [2023]

As debates around work-life balance, post-pandemic RTO, and a potential 4-day workweek continue to gain traction, it’s clear Americans are reshaping their relationships with work.

As an advocate for healthier relationships with work and money, our team at FinanceBuzz wanted to identify cities where Americans have the highest risk of burnout. To find them, we studied seven factors across 50 of the most populated cities in the U.S.

The final index, ranked from the most overworked to the least, reveals key comparisons and areas of opportunity for different metro areas to help their workers.

Key findings

• Washington, D.C., Denver, CO, and Austin, TX, are the most overworked cities in the United States.
• Las Vegas, Nevada, is the least overworked city.
• Florida represented 3 of the 10 least overworked cities in the U.S. – Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando.

How we chose these metrics and cities

• Average number of hours worked per week: The typical workweek is about 40 hours. Where in the U.S. are people putting in more hours than average?
• Average commute time: A long commute time only adds more time to the workweek. Which cities spend the most time commuting to and from work?
• Percentage of households where two or more people have jobs: How many households have more than one person working full time?
• Percentage of workers that work 50+ weeks per year: Many full-time workers receive specific holidays off as well as a preset paid time-off policy. But how many are still in the office or on the clock for the majority of the year?
• Percentage of active workers that are aged 65+: How many are working past the typical retirement age?
• Percentage of workers in each city's state who have two or more jobs: When one job doesn’t cut it, how many workers in the U.S. have taken on a second job?
• Percentage of workers with a side hustle: Maybe someone’s schedule can’t support an entirely separate second job but can support a side hustle for additional income. How many people are dedicating time to a side hustle on top of their full-time roles?

The top 10 cities

1. Washington, D.C.

We found Washington D.C. to be the most overworked city in the U.S., with one of the highest percentages of dual-job households, workers who put in more than 50 weeks per year, and older adults still in the workforce.

2. Denver, CO

Denver, much like D.C., has a high percentage of households where more than one person holds a full-time job. With more than 6.3% of residents in the Mile High City working a second job, and 3.4% with a side hustle, it’s no surprise Denver landed so high on this list.

3. Austin, TX

Austin also has a high percentage of households where more than one person holds a full-time job, along with a slightly higher amount of average hours worked than D.C.

4. Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis has one of the highest percentages of households where more than one person has a full-time role. It closely follows Salt Lake and Boston, which have the two highest rates among our top 10 cities.

5. Dallas, TX

Dallas currently holds not only one of the longest commute times among the top 10, but also one of the highest percentages of older adult workers aged 65 and older.

6. Boston, MA

Boston boasted one of the higher percentages of dual-job households, as well as a large percentage of workers who also had a second job. Boston also had one of the longer average commute times of the top 10 cities.

7. Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City earned its place in the top 10 for its high percentage of households where multiple individuals hold full-time jobs.

8. Kansas City, MO

Although Kansas City had one of the lower percentages of dual-job households compared to the top 10 cities, KC stood out due to a higher number of workers who worked 50 or more weeks out of the year. It also had a relatively high percentage of workers who held a second job.

9. Indianapolis, IN

Thankfully for those working and living in Indianapolis, their average commute time is just under 25 minutes — one of the shorter ones amongst our top 10.

10. Baltimore, MD

Baltimore ranked among the lower 10 in terms of dual-job households. However, it had a larger percentage of workers who spend 50 or more weeks per year on the job.

A city-by-city breakdown of America’s most overworked cities

City	Weekly hours worked	Commute (mins)	Dual-job households	Workers that work 50+ wks/yr	Older adult workers	Workers with 2 jobs	Workers with a side hustle	Overworked rating (higher means worse)
Washington, DC	39.0	31.0	61.3%	64.0%	23.4%	5.6%	3.0%	81.1
Denver, CO	39.3	26.7	60.5%	64.8%	21.2%	6.3%	3.4%	80.6
Austin, TX	39.8	26.1	60.0%	63.4%	20.0%	4.5%	3.3%	69.7
Minneapolis, MN	38.1	23.3	62.0%	64.5%	18.5%	6.5%	3.2%	67.0
Dallas, TX	39.9	27.3	57.1%	61.5%	22.9%	4.5%	2.4%	66.9
Boston, MA	38.1	28.4	61.2%	61.6%	22.3%	5.3%	2.6%	65.1
Salt Lake City, UT	37.9	21.7	63.6%	63.4%	19.9%	5.3%	3.6%	62.9
Kansas City, MO	39.4	23.0	57.1%	64.6%	19.3%	5.1%	2.8%	62.9
Indianapolis, IN	39.1	24.9	56.5%	61.7%	20.4%	5.7%	2.6%	62.1
Baltimore, MD	38.7	27.7	55.3%	63.6%	20.5%	5.5%	2.3%	61.7
Nashville, TN	39.3	26.2	57.0%	62.1%	20.3%	4.3%	3.1%	61.0
Raleigh, NC	38.9	26.5	57.5%	61.5%	18.7%	4.7%	3.6%	60.1
Seattle, WA	38.6	28.5	57.3%	60.4%	18.4%	5.3%	2.8%	57.2
Virginia Beach, VA	39.2	24.2	53.6%	63.8%	19.4%	5.0%	2.5%	56.8
Columbus, OH	38.8	23.7	54.5%	61.2%	18.8%	5.8%	2.7%	55.0
Charlotte, NC	39.5	25.7	53.7%	61.9%	17.7%	4.7%	2.8%	54.6
Atlanta, GA	39.2	29.6	55.4%	60.3%	19.0%	4.1%	2.6%	54.3
Houston, TX	40.0	28.9	53.2%	57.6%	20.5%	4.5%	2.0%	54.3
Philadelphia, PA	38.7	27.6	54.8%	59.1%	20.3%	5.2%	2.3%	53.4
Richmond, VA	38.9	24.9	55.0%	62.1%	18.3%	5.0%	2.5%	52.9
San Francisco, CA	38.4	28.8	57.4%	60.3%	19.7%	4.2%	2.5%	52.0
Cincinnati, OH	38.7	24.1	54.0%	61.0%	17.8%	5.8%	2.5%	51.5
Hartford, CT	37.7	23.5	56.3%	60.3%	18.9%	6.5%	2.4%	51.0
St. Louis, MO	38.7	24.4	54.2%	61.2%	17.3%	5.1%	2.9%	49.9
Chicago, IL	38.7	29.0	55.5%	60.0%	18.3%	4.7%	2.1%	49.9
San Jose, CA	38.8	24.3	57.7%	62.5%	18.2%	4.2%	2.0%	48.6
Cleveland, OH	38.5	23.9	50.4%	60.3%	17.6%	5.8%	2.8%	46.9
Oklahoma City, OK	38.9	23.3	51.7%	59.3%	18.1%	5.0%	3.0%	46.5
New York, NY	38.1	34.2	55.0%	56.2%	19.6%	4.2%	2.2%	45.9
Milwaukee, WI	38.2	22.0	53.5%	63.0%	16.0%	5.8%	2.1%	44.1
Phoenix, AZ	39.3	25.6	51.6%	60.1%	16.5%	4.5%	2.3%	43.8
Pittsburgh, PA	38.6	25.8	51.4%	59.6%	17.2%	5.2%	2.3%	43.5
Louisville, KY	38.8	22.8	51.6%	60.1%	16.4%	5.4%	2.4%	42.8
Providence, RI	37.9	25.6	55.2%	59.2%	18.5%	5.2%	1.9%	42.5
Miami, FL	38.9	28.3	52.8%	60.5%	18.2%	3.3%	2.0%	41.5
Memphis, TN	39.3	23.8	47.8%	58.0%	20.3%	4.3%	2.3%	41.2
Portland, OR	38.0	24.6	54.6%	59.2%	15.9%	4.6%	3.3%	40.9
San Antonio, TX	39.4	25.8	51.6%	57.6%	17.3%	4.5%	1.9%	40.7
San Diego, CA	38.5	24.5	53.8%	59.2%	17.7%	4.2%	2.5%	40.4
Birmingham, AL	39.5	26.2	51.0%	58.7%	16.8%	3.6%	2.3%	39.3
Jacksonville, FL	39.4	25.2	49.3%	62.0%	18.2%	3.3%	1.6%	38.5
New Orleans, LA	39.4	25.0	47.3%	56.4%	19.2%	4.4%	2.1%	38.0
Los Angeles, CA	37.8	28.4	55.9%	55.0%	18.9%	4.2%	2.3%	37.3
Tampa, FL	39.3	26.7	48.2%	60.7%	15.6%	3.3%	2.0%	34.0
Orlando, FL	38.9	28.3	51.4%	57.7%	15.9%	3.3%	2.1%	33.0
Detroit, MI	38.8	25.4	49.8%	54.3%	15.9%	4.8%	2.1%	30.7
Sacramento, CA	37.8	26.5	52.2%	57.5%	14.4%	4.2%	2.2%	27.6
Riverside, CA	38.0	32.2	51.5%	54.4%	14.8%	4.2%	1.4%	26.2
Buffalo, NY	37.2	20.7	51.9%	57.6%	16.6%	4.2%	1.9%	20.9
Las Vegas, NV	38.5	24.4	48.3%	52.8%	14.9%	4.1%	1.9%	18.7

Tips for working long hours

Working 40 hours or more per week can be overwhelming, but there are plenty of tips and tricks to make your workweek easier.

• Get rewarded at the gas pump. Fueling your commute can be expensive, but if you use one of the best credit cards for gas, you can earn cash back with every purchase.
• Try working remotely if possible. If you’re looking to avoid a commute altogether, learn how to find remote jobs and start working from home.
• Use a credit card for work expenses. When you use one of the best credit cards for work expenses, you can keep all of your work-related transactions organized and separate from any personal expenses. Likewise, you may be able to cash in on any rewards offered through your purchases.
• Build a financial safety net. No one wants to feel that after all their hard work, they’re still struggling financially. Open up one of the best savings accounts and contribute regularly to create a financial safety net in case of emergencies.

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Methodology

FinanceBuzz collected data on 50 of America's biggest cities. We compiled data for seven different factors relating to work and overworking in each city. Factors were compared against each other using a dynamic formula that assigned each city a score of 0-5 relative to every other city. Those factor scores were then weighted to assign each city a final value out of 100, with higher scores indicating cities that are more overworked.

For each factor, a weight of 3.00 serves as the baseline, with weights above 3.00 having a larger impact on a city's total score and those below 3.00 having a lesser impact. The following table details weights and sources for the individual metrics.

Criterion	Source	Weight
Average # of hours worked per week	U.S. Census	3.25
% of workers that work 50+ weeks per year	U.S. Census	3.25
% of households where two or more people have jobs	U.S. Census	3.00
% of active workers aged 65+	U.S. Census	3.00
% of workers in each city's state with two or more jobs	U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics	3.00
Average commute time	U.S. Census	2.50
% of workers with a side hustle	BackgroundChecks.org	2.00