Despite High Cost of Living Californians Don’t Want to Work Hard

Living in California is expensive and to afford to live there, while also doing fun things like Disneyland, SeaWorld, or going out at night, you need to have a good job, or perhaps have a couple of jobs. It isn't cheap living on the West Coast, but with the perfect weather, the beach, the mountains, and everything the Golden State offers, people stay. It would seem like residents in California would be hard workers since they have to make enough to afford to do all these things, but compared to other states are they hard workers, or are they a bit lazier than others?

The Hardest Working States and the Laziest States

With needing to work a good job or multiple jobs, it would seem Californians should be hustling and working hard, but according to one list, that isn't the case. WalletHub recently released a list ranking the states from hardest working to laziest and used categories such as direct work factors and indirect work factors to do so. Using these criteria, it was determined that the hardest-working state in the country is North Dakota, followed by Alaska, and Nebraska rounding out the top three. Coming in as the laziest state in the country is West Virginia, with New York being the second laziest, which is a bit surprising. Many would think, similar to California, that the cost of living would force many to work multiple jobs and be hard workers, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Rounding out the bottom three is Michigan. 

Are Californians Hard or Lazy Workers?

Depending on who you ask, will determine how Californians are viewed. Many think they lay on the beach, surf, and never work, which would make them lazy, whereas others feel because of the cost of living, they never stop working. Both can be true, and it is why California is middle of the road when it comes to a hard working states, but falls a tad more on the lazy side. California comes in on the list at 39 making it just outside the top ten for laziest states. The Golden State is 37 in direct work factors and 27 in indirect work factors. California has the 2nd lowest employment rate, with only Nevada being worse. Not having residents work, comes across as lazy, when many states employ more of their residents. 

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With so many unemployed residents, and many working part-time jobs, it is hard to see California as a hard-working state. Some work hard to have what they do, but with so many residents, not everyone is going to put in the same effort. To see the full list broken down, make sure to click the link in the second paragraph above.