Despite The Ongoing Government Shutdown, A Recent Study Confirms That Washington, D.C. Is Still The Most Overworked City In The Nation

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When FinanceBuzz decided to take a look at a large sample of the largest cities in the nation and determine which of them were the most overworked, they did so with the hope of finding insights that could ultimately be used to advocate for a more sustainable future for American workers, where work-life balance conversations are taken seriously.

What makes Washington, D.C., the most overworked city in America

While the District was ranked the hardest-working city in the nation for the second year in a row back in February, Washingtonians can also now sleep easy knowing that we aren’t just the hardest-working, we’re also the most overworked.

According to the study, several factors made the District stand out compared to other cities across the country!

Workers in Washington, D.C., according to the study’s data, spend an average of around 45 hours every week at work or commuting, which was the second-most time of any city measured in the study! Additionally, around 86.5% of workers in the District take less than 2 weeks off from work each year.

The study also found that roughly 25% of the people in Washington, D.C., above the age of 65 are still active members of the workforce.

Altogether, the study concluded that the District’s “Overworked Score” measured in at 68.9 out of a potential 100, the highest in the nation!

What are the other most overworked cities in America?

While the District took the top spot on the list, here are the remainder of the top 10 most overworked cities in the United States according to the study:

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Honolulu, HI
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Dallas, TX
5. San Jose, CA
6. Charlotte, NC
7. Virginia Beach, VA
8. Oakland, CA
9. Colorado Springs, CO
10. Denver, CO

What was this study’s methodology?

The study focused on seven key variables that each provided a unique insight into the rate of “overwork” across the 75 biggest cities in America.

Those seven variables included:

1. Average # of hours worked and commuted per week
   • Data sourced from the U.S. Census
2. % of workers who work 50+ weeks per year
   • Data sourced from the U.S. Census
3. Google Trends search volume for terms relating to overwork
   • Data sourced from Google Trends
4. Google Trends search volume for terms relating to side hustles
   • Data sourced from Google Trends
5. % of workers in each city’s state with two or more jobs
   • Data sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
6. % of households where two or more people have jobs
   • Data sourced from the U.S. Census
7. % of active workers aged 65+
   • Data sourced from the U.S. Census