Website rates Gilbert as hardest-working city in Arizona

PHOENIX — For a place that is so retirement friendly, Arizona has several hardworking cities, and the town of Gilbert topped the list.

Personal finance website WalletHub rated the Phoenix suburb No. 24 on a list of 116 American cities where hustle and sweat were a way of life.

Glendale followed at No. 32, Phoenix No. 46, Mesa No. 48, Chandler No. 51 and Scottsdale No. 61.

The last Arizona city to make the list was Tucson, which finished 85th.

Researchers arrived at their findings by pulling together what they called direct work factors and indirect work factors.

Digging further into those measurable elements, the research weighed each of nine metrics on a 100-point scale. Direct work factors included average workweek hours, employment rate and idle youth (ages 16-24).

Indirect work factors included average commute time, workers with multiple jobs and average daily leisure time.

Gilbert ranked 25th in direct work factors and 29th for indirect work factors. Glendale came in 35th in direct work factors and 47th for indirect.

A year ago, the website rated Gilbert as the safest and 16th-happiest place to live in the country in separate studies.

The top two hardest-working cities were relatively close to one another in California’s Bay Area — San Francisco and Fremont. Jersey City, New Jersey was third.

Washington, D.C. and New York City rounded out the top five.

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