June 28, 2018

RewardExpert Reveals Top Cities Where People Work the Least for the Most Pay

Analyzes data on average hours worked per week, wages, and weekly earnings, to determine which U.S. cities and metropolitan areas have the best compensated workers working relatively shorter workweeks.

New York, N.Y. — Many studies have sought to examine which cities in the U.S. are home to the hardest workers. However, to be a “hard worker” can be a subjective matter. If one worker can complete a task in half the time as another, that doesn’t mean they didn’t work as hard because they clocked in less hours. RewardExpert—a free service that helps people take full advantage of credit card and travel rewards—today released a report answering a less commonly asked question; where do people work the least and earn the most? The report titled, “Top Places Where You Get the Most Bang For Your Paycheck,” determines, by the numbers, the cities and metropolitan areas where people work fewer, better-compensated hours per week.

“The ability to work shorter, better-paid hours is a sign of a market’s economic strength,” says RewardExpert co-founder Vlad Tyschuk. “The perception is that big metro cities are filled with workaholics grinding away to achieve financial independence. However, our top places give residents the opportunity to achieve economic stability without having to clock in quite as many hours.”

The top three places in the U.S. where people work shorter, better-paid hours are:

  • Mankato-North Mankato, Minnesota –The greater Mankato-North Mankato metropolitan area takes first place for having the third-shortest average workweeks in the country. With average wages in the area also substantially above the national average, those hours are remunerative enough that, as a consequence, it is possible to live at a decidedly more leisurely pace in Mankato.
  • Corvallis, Oregon – Residents of Corvallis, the county seat and largest city in Benton County, take second place in our analysis for getting the best value for their hours at work. The Corvallis metropolitan area is home to the main campus of Oregon State University, and the area’s economy is driven by the education, research, and engineering industries.
  • Chico, California – Unlike the workaholics in the entertainment and tech industries elsewhere in California, the inhabitants of the Chico area enjoy a relatively short average work week of 30.6 hours and earn $2.50 more per hour than the national average. Like our first- and second-place metropolitan areas, Chico is home to a major state university, Chico State, making education a leading industry.

“To determine our ranking, we analyzed data on average hours worked per week, wages, and weekly earnings based on the March 2018 numbers in the State and Metro Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings data set from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” says Tyschuk.

For further information and to view the full report, visit the RewardExpert website.

About RewardExpert

RewardExpert helps users navigate the world of frequent flyer programs and credit card rewards. The free web service provides smart tools and features that enable users to make more rewarding decisions. Through personal finance and travel insights, users are empowered to turn their spending into earning. Find out how to quickly gain rewards while spending less to see more of the world. To get started, visit www.rewardexpert.com.

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Kaja Olcott
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