July 11, 2018
RewardExpert Ranks U.S. Cities Where People Work the Most for the Least Pay
Analyzes labor data for 387 cities and metropolitan areas in the U.S. to determine in which places people work the longest hours for the least compensation.
New York, N.Y. — Some cities across the U.S. have reputations for housing hard workers who clock in long hours. Additionally, certain locations give the impression for providing higher or lower paying work opportunities. RewardExpert—a free service that helps users take full advantage of credit card and travel rewards—today released a report ranking U.S. Cities Where People Work the Most for the Least Pay.
“State-level regulations can impact factors like minimum wage limits and tax relief for businesses, which ultimately affect workers,” says RewardExpert co-founder Vlad Tyschuk. “However, through this report we can additionally see interesting variations on a local market level. We found that where you live and work can impact your both work-life balance and your earning potential.”
The top three places where people work the longest hours for the least compensation are:
- Rome, Georgia – Workers in the Rome metropolitan area work more hours in a typical workweek than 381 out of 387 cities and metropolitan areas, and earn an average hourly wage of $19.26, which compares decidedly unfavorably to the national average hourly wage of $23.81 per hour.
- Warner Robbins, Georgia – Workers employed in Warner Robins—whose economy is anchored by the Robins Air Force Base—endure one of the three longest metro-area average workweeks in the country, working for an average of 39 hours per week. The prevailing wages in the metropolitan area rank 331st out of 387, with an average hourly pay rate of $20.22.
- Owensboro, Kentucky – The prevailing, average hourly wage in the Owensboro metropolitan area is a mere $18.86 per hour (across all industries), while the average workweek in the area is 37.5 hours long. Said otherwise: the average worker in Owensboro works 10 percent longer than the average U.S. worker, while he or she earns just 79.21 percent of the U.S. average hourly wage.
“For those who are considering moving to a new location for work, check out RewardExpert’s previously released report analyzing the U.S. cities and metropolitan areas in which people are working the shortest workweeks for the highest relative compensation,” says Tyschuk.
To obtain the overall score used to rank each of the 387 metropolitan areas, RewardExpert analyzed March 2018 numbers in State and Metro Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings data set from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to rank each metropolitan area for the average length of a typical area worker’s workweek in hours and the relative value of each hour spent working. The cities and metropolitan areas were ranked according to this composite score in descending order, reflecting workweek length and earning power per hour.
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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