Atlanta Only 57th Hardest-Working City: Report

We're not sure we're buying it, but according to a new report, Atlanta is only the 57th hardest-working city in the United States. The personal finance site WalletHub ranked 116 cities based on what it calls direct work factors and indirect work factors.

San Francisco was the hardest working city with a score of 78.52 out of 100, WalletHub said. Columbia, South Carolina, came in last place with an overall score of 25.72 points.

Data such as average hours worked per week, employment rate and amount of unused vacation time was used to calculate the direct work factor score. The highest possible score would be 80 points.

Average workweek hours were by far the single most important factor in the direct work factor score, receiving a triple weight and accounting for 43.64 points by itself.

By comparison, the highest possible indirect work factor score would be 20 points.
Average commute time, share of workers with multiple jobs and yearly volunteer hours were among the factors used to determine that score.

Atlanta ranked 51st in direct work factors and 96th in indirect work factors. It was the only Georgia city to make the list.

California had 17 cities make the list, including the top two in the country. Texas had 13 cities make the list, along with six cities in Florida and Indiana.

The site ensured at least one city from each state was represented. Each city refers to city proper, WalletHub said, and excludes the surrounding metro area.

WalletHub used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Travel Association, Gallup, Social Science Research Council and Corporation for National & Community Service.

What do you think? Is Atlanta really just middle-of-the-pack as far as working hard? Are all those commuters we see on the highway every morning just joy-riding? Let us know what you think in the comments or on social media.

Click here to see how every city ranked.

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