Seriously, take a break

New report proves Texans work harder than almost anyone else in U.S.

Workers in the Lone Star State put in more hours and take less vacation time than most of America.

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Texans don't just work hard, they work harder than almost anyone else in the nation, according to a new study.

Just in time for Labor Day, WalletHub has revealed the hardest-working states for 2019, and Texas lands at No. 4, meaning only three states — North Dakota, Alaska, and South Dakota — work harder. To determine the ranking, the personal finance site reviewed a host of factors, from average workweek, commute time, and leisure time to employment rates and the share of workers with multiple jobs.

In Texas, where 96 percent of the labor force has a job, workers stay on the clock an average of 40 hours a week. While that might seem pretty standard, somehow, that makes us the state with the fourth-longest workweek.

And those hardworking Texans could use a break. Surprisingly, 29 percent of the state's workers don’t use all of their vacation time. One contributing factor could be the state's high percentage of engaged workers (35 percent), described in the study as “involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace.”

As we know, work doesn’t just start and end at your desk. WalletHub also measured workers’ commute times, volunteer hours, and leisure time, which it categorized as indirect work factors.

In Texas, workers regularly travel about 26 minutes one way for their jobs, and despite their long workweeks, they make time to volunteer for 27 hours each year on average. In regards to work-life balance, Texans set aside almost six hours a day for leisure time. That may sound ample, but workers in 19 other states spend even more time relaxing.

This isn't the only recent study to call attention to how much time Texans spend on the clock.

A recent report from mobile technology company Kisi named Houston, where workers clock 43.7 hours a week, the second most overworked city in the U.S., second only to Washington, D.C. Austin also shot to the top of the list, with workers laboring 43.5 hours a week, followed by San Antonio (43.1 hours) and Dallas (42.9 hours).

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Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

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