Posted on Sep 27, 2021

Each US State's Work-Life Balance Ranked, From Best To Worst

Working 40-plus hours a week and braving a hellish commute? You're not alone.

by Evie Carrick

BuzzFeed Contributor

Fox / Via Giphy / giphy.com

To get this ranking, the American Work-Life Balance Index measured each US state using four factors:

1. Average number of weekly hours worked over the past 12 months for workers ages 16 to 64, according to the United States Census Bureau.

2. Average commute time in minutes, according to the United States Census Bureau.

3. Average Glassdoor work-life balance review score of companies based in each state using a sample of 1,800 companies. (Glassdoor data was not available for Vermont, Wyoming, Hawaii, and Alaska, so the final score for these states was calculated using the other three factors.)

4. The state’s rank on Gallup’s 2019 Well-Being Index on a scale of 1 (best) to 50 (worst).

Based on these four factors, the American Work-Life Balance Index assigned each state a total score out of 10 possible points.

Rock arch in Utah

Person running in fall colors

High alpine lake surrounded by mountains

Mountains coming out of grassy river area

Lighthouse on the coast of Maine

Bridge into a Nebraska city

Mountains in the Badlands

House on the coast in Delaware

Corn being grown in rows

Coast of Hawaii

River and hills in desert area

City in Minnesota with green space

Water in Oregon at the base of a volcano

Mountains in the spring in Idaho

Boats on the water near the city

Kayak on the water in Alaska

Night image of a city in Rhode Island

Little town near the woods

People mountain biking on a trail in the mountains

Seattle with the mountains in the background

Mountains at sunset

Colorful houses on the water in fall

Coastal town with boats in the harbor

Mount Rushmore under a blue sky

Town built on a waterway

Michigan lake at sunset

Road to beautiful red rock formations

Night shot of a city in Indiana

bright orange fall trees

City built around waterways

City at night on the water

Coastal front alongside palm trees

Small town in the hills in the fall

Colorful houses near a green park

Waterfall in the woods

Bridge crossing a river at sunset

People kayaking in the bayou

Person looking toward a lighthouse near the coast

City sprawl in Texas

City on a waterway at sunset

Water surrounded by green woods

Person standing in the street in New York

River going through Chicago

Person stands on a rock outcropping among green forest

Bridge over a waterway at fall

Boats on the water by the city

Neon lights of Tennessee

And for more stories about work and money, check out the rest of our personal finance posts.

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