Texas Cities Dominate New Work Ethic Rankings, Louisiana Lags Behind

Study finds Texas cities like Irving, Dallas, and Austin among the hardest working in the U.S., while New Orleans is Louisiana's only city to crack the top 100.

Mar. 3, 2026 at 5:31am

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A new study by WalletHub has ranked the hardest working cities in America, and Texas cities are dominating the list. Irving, Dallas, and Austin all landed in the top 10, with a total of 13 Texas cities making the top 100. In contrast, Louisiana only had one city, New Orleans, crack the top 100, coming in at #100. The study looked at metrics like average work week hours, employment rate, and share of workers leaving vacation time unused to determine the rankings.

Why it matters

The findings highlight the perceived work ethic differences between Texas and Louisiana, with Texas cities emerging as some of the hardest working in the country. This could have implications for economic development, business growth, and talent attraction in the two states.

The details

To determine the hardest working cities, WalletHub analyzed factors like average work week hours, employment rate, share of workers leaving vacation time unused, work commute times, and share of households where no adults work. Cheyenne, Wyoming was ranked as the overall hardest working city, but when looking at specific states, Texas dominated the list with 13 cities in the top 100. Louisiana, on the other hand, only had New Orleans crack the top 100, coming in at #100.

  • The study was released on February 28, 2026.

The players

WalletHub

A personal finance website that conducts research and analysis on economic and financial topics.

Texas

The state that had 13 cities ranked among the hardest working in the U.S. according to the study.

Louisiana

The state that only had one city, New Orleans, ranked among the top 100 hardest working cities in the U.S. according to the study.

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The takeaway

The study's findings underscore the perceived work ethic differences between Texas and Louisiana, with Texas cities emerging as some of the most industrious in the country. This could have implications for economic development, business growth, and talent attraction in the two states, as employers and workers may be drawn to the strong work culture in Texas cities.