Get to Work
Fort Worth earns a spot among the hardest-working cities in America
Focused, determined, diligent — all words to describe Fort Worth, one of the hardest-working cities in America. That's according to personal finance site WalletHub, which recently ranked 116 of the nation's largest cities across 11 key metrics, ranging from average hours worked per week to share of workers with multiple jobs.
Fort Worth lands at No. 17, two spots down from last year, but keeps good company with five other Texas cities in the top 20.
Two scores combined to produce the final ranking: direct (worth 80 percent) and indirect (worth 20 percent) work factors.
Direct includes things like average workweek hours (these counted for triple weight); employment rate (for people over 16); share of households where no adults work; share of workers leaving vacation time unused; share of engaged workers (meaning those who are "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace," as defined by Gallup); and idle youth (people ages 16-24 who are neither in school nor working).
Indirect includes average commute time, share of workers with multiple jobs, annual volunteer hours per resident, share of residents who participate in local groups or organizations, and average leisure time spent per day.
Fort Worth actually scores No. 14 in direct factors, but No. 60 in indirect, for a total score of 70.30. First place finisher Anchorage, Alaska, by comparison, earned a total score of 80.07.
Highest on the list for the Lone Star State is Irving at fifth, followed by Corpus Christi seventh, Austin ninth, Plano 10th, and Dallas 13th.
Who works the least? Detroit, Michigan; Burlington, Vermont; and Buffalo, New York, lead the bottom three.
