Cities With The Longest Workweeks—Big Apple At The Core

Scott M. Stringer, New York City Controller, knows his city is among the hardest working in the nation. And Chicago is the “City of the Big Shoulders,” according to Carl Sandburg. But Stringer recently issued a study of which cities in the United States had the longest workweeks. How do you think the city where your facility is located rated?

In the March 2015 NYC Quarterly Economic Update, Stringer writes that the city’s Bureau of Fiscal and Budget Studies looked into the question of workweek length to determine where his city stands and how the results could affect the city’s economy and workforce.  In the study, the length of commuting time was also counted as part of the “workweek.”

The results are fascinating.  For example, while San Franciscans (44.01 hours) work longer hours than New Yorkers (42.50 hours), when the commuting time is factored in, Big Apple workers, at 49.08 hours total, have the longest workweek in the country.

In terms of total hours, following New York and San Francisco in the “top 10” are Washington, D.C. (43.50); Houston (43.44); Fort Worth (43.43); Chicago (42.36); Boston (42.53); Charlotte (43.50); Baltimore (42.34); and Seattle (43.17).   Find the remaining 20 cities in the Update.

It’s no surprise that New Yorkers do work longer than workers in other cities, especially in certain professions. But, says Stringer, while compensation in the Big Apple is high, “the longer workweek effectively lowers that wage premium.”