north texas tenacity

Dallas and Irving punch in as top 10 hardest-working cities in America

No one works harder in North Texas than an Irving or Dallas resident.

Photo courtesy of Visit Irving

Dallas and neighboring Irving are proving their tenacity as some of the hardest-working American cities, so says a new study.

WalletHub's annual "Hardest-Working Cities in America (2026)" report ranked the two North Texas cities among the top 10 for 2026. Irving ranked No. 5 nationally, while Dallas came in seventh. Last year, the two cities claimed third and fourth place, respectively.

The personal finance website evaluated 116 U.S. cities based on 11 key indicators across "direct" and "indirect" work factors, such as an individual's average workweek hours, average commute times, employment rates, and more.

The U.S. cities that rounded out the top five include Cheyenne, Wyoming (No. 1); Anchorage, Alaska (No. 2); Washington, D.C. (No. 2); and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (No. 4).

Based on the report's findings, Irving and Dallas have the third- and fifth-best "direct work factors" ranks in the nation, which analyzed residents' average workweek hours, employment rates, the share of households where no adults work, the share of workers leaving vacation time unused, the share of "engaged" workers, and the rate of "idle youth" (residents aged 16-24 that are not in school nor have a job).

"Irving, Texas, has the lowest share of households where no adults work, which is 3.6 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest," the report said.

Irving has also emerged as a popular destination for millennials, which make up about a third of the city's total population and a significant chunk of the workforce.

However, both cities lagged behind in the "indirect work factors" ranking. Irving ranked No. 72 in this category, while Dallas ranked 64th. "Indirect" work factors that were considered include residents' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, the share of residents who participate in local groups or organizations, annual volunteer hours, and residents' average leisure time spent per day.

Arlington, which ranked as the 10th hardest-working city in 2025, dropped five spots and now ranks 15th for 2026. Three more North Texas cities also appeared among the top 25 for 2026: Fort Worth (No. 13), Plano (No. 17), and Garland (No. 24).

Based on data from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), WalletHub said the average American employee works hundreds of more hours than workers residing in "several other industrialized nations."

"The typical American puts in 1,796 hours per year – 179 more than in Japan, 284 more than in the U.K., and 465 more than in Germany," the report's author wrote. "In recent years, the rise of remote work has, in some cases, extended work hours even further."

Remote work flexibility is extremely prevalent in other Dallas-Fort Worth cities like Frisco and McKinney, which have the top-10 highest rates of remote workers in the nation in 2026.

WalletHub also tracked the nation's lowest and highest employment rates based on the largest city in each state from 2009 to 2024.

Source: WalletHub

Other Texas cities that earned spots on the list include Austin (No. 10), Corpus Christi (No. 14), Laredo (No. 22), Houston (No. 37), El Paso (No. 43), Lubbock (No. 46), and San Antonio (No. 61).

The top 10 hardest working cities in America are:

No. 1 – Cheyenne, Wyoming
No. 2 – Anchorage, Alaska
No. 3 – Washington, D.C.
No. 4 – Sioux Falls, South Dakota
No. 5 – Irving
No. 6 – Nashville
No. 7 – Dallas
No. 8 – San Francisco
No. 9 – Denver
No. 10 – Austin

Data for this study was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Travel Association, Gallup, Social Science Research Council, and the Corporation for National & Community Service as of January 29, 2026.

wallethub irving dallas reports

happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America

Photo courtesy of Visit Plano

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A new happiness study has ranked Plano one of the happiest cities in America this year, and it once again landed on top as the happiest city in Texas.

Plano has moved up on the list and ranks as the 16th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 17th.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Plano across the three key dimensions:

No. 15 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 22 – Community and environment
No. 72 – Income and employment

Plano and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, inviting fun pop-ups for locals, or having a strong job market.

Plano's happiness far outshines the rest of North Texas; according to WalletHub, Irving is the 70th happiest city in the country, the third-happiest in Texas, and the second-happiest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Garland ranked farther behind as No. 92 nationally, and more DFW cities ranked even lower: Grand Prairie (No. 106), Dallas (No. 111), Fort Worth (No. 113), and Arlington (No. 119).

The report additionally found that Dallasites spend the third-most amount of time at work in the nation. The city ranked No. 180 in the national analysis of U.S. cities with the "fewest work hours."

WalletHub also emphasized that money doesn't buy happiness — after a certain point.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Six-figure earners in Plano aren't necessarily as happy as those who don't make as much, as a separate financial study from SmartAsset revealed these big earners are only taking home about $72,653 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 39 – Austin
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub plano reports