The Best (and Worst) US Cities for Work-Life Balance

Whether you work remote or in an office, all employees should be able to maintain a healthy work-life balance as they make money. Doing so is a win for your physical health, relationships and productivity, to name a few areas of impact. And while some employees may have expectations that moving to a new city, such as those on the coasts, can offer the ideal work-life balance, the reality is some of the best cities for work-life balance are found in flyover states.

To find out which cities are the best and worst for work-life balance, GOBankingRates analyzed over 113 cities with 100,000 or more workers. Factors found in each city include the total population, total households, median household income, average travel time to work, average hours worked per week, labor force participation rate and unemployment rate. Each city’s overall average expenditure costs were calculated using the national average expenditure cost sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. States like Minnesota and Nebraska had several cities mentioned among the best for work-life balance. Three California cities, on the other hand, ranked among the 10 worst.

Read on to discover the 10 best, and 10 worst, cities for work-life balance.

Featuring cities in states like Utah, Michigan and Minnesota, these places offer their residents the type of work-life balance that helps keep professional and personal lives on track.

• Total workers: 239,114
• Total households: 185,674
• Total population: 353,178
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 22.9
• Average hours worked per week: 37.5
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 73.5
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 5.8
• Livability index: 78.0
• Cost of living index: 107.2
• Median household income: $76,332
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,156.52

• Total workers: 251,518
• Total households: 197,842
• Total population: 381,682
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 19.3
• Average hours worked per week: 38.7
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 69.9
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 4.2
• Livability index: 82.0
• Cost of living index: 90.8
• Median household income: $70,202
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,233.01

• Total workers: 158,824
• Total households: 121,212
• Total population: 242,714
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 23.1
• Average hours worked per week: 37.2
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 70.3
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 5.0
• Livability index: 80.0
• Cost of living index: 102.3
• Median household income: $69,919
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $1,971.49

• Total workers: 165,422
• Total households: 136,104
• Total population: 262,506
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 20.8
• Average hours worked per week: 37.9
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 67.9
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 5.0
• Livability index: 86.0
• Cost of living index: 90.8
• Median household income: $66,087
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $1,901.74

• Total workers: 116,396
• Total households: 85,435
• Total population: 168,935
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 19.7
• Average hours worked per week: 37.9
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 73.0
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 3.6
• Livability index: 75.0
• Cost of living index: 121.3
• Median household income: $72,357
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,044.71

• Total workers: 101,943
• Total households: 79,009
• Total population: 160,066
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 19.2
• Average hours worked per week: 37.5
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 68.7
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 5.6
• Livability index: 83.0
• Cost of living index: 94.5
• Median household income: $61,634
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $1,890.01

• Total workers: 107,288
• Total households: 79,753
• Total population: 150,648
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 16.8
• Average hours worked per week: 39.4
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 74.2
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 2.3
• Livability index: 84.0
• Cost of living index: 90.7
• Median household income: $71,785
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $1,961.84

• Total workers: 101,139
• Total households: 81,846
• Total population: 168,620
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 18.6
• Average hours worked per week: 35.5
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 65.9
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 6.5
• Livability index: 82.0
• Cost of living index: 91.2
• Median household income: $52,899
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,064.56

• Total workers: 157,701
• Total households: 118,332
• Total population: 233,798
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 18.6
• Average hours worked per week: 37.2
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 70.9
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 3.3
• Livability index: 83.0
• Cost of living index: 92.6
• Median household income: $67,846
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,330.49

• Total workers: 154,669
• Total households: 120,509
• Total population: 229,019
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 19.5
• Average hours worked per week: 36.5
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 70.4
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 2.6
• Livability index: 81.0
• Cost of living index: 103.4
• Median household income: $74,895
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,183.35

Whether you find yourself dealing with lengthy commutes or struggling with considerable cost of living expenses, here are some of the worst places for maintaining work-life balance.

• Total workers: 108,304
• Total households: 73,362
• Total population: 174,913
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 35.2
• Average hours worked per week: 38.6
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 67.3
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 5.5
• Livability index: 71
• Cost of living index: 161.7
• Median household income: $116,186
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,166.96

• Total workers: 717,569
• Total households: 659,129
• Total population: 1,284,522
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 32.8
• Average hours worked per week: 38.3
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 62.8
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 8.6
• Livability index: 77
• Cost of living index: 104.3
• Median household income: $57,537
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,115.39

• Total workers: 169,417
• Total households: 124,744
• Total population: 296,960
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 23.6
• Average hours worked per week: 38.6
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 63.1
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 7.1
• Livability index: 58
• Cost of living index: 99.8
• Median household income: $73,827
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,068.80

• Total workers: 366,965
• Total households: 315,785
• Total population: 556,781
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 30.5
• Average hours worked per week: 40.4
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 72.0
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 7.1
• Livability index: 73
• Cost of living index: 151.9
• Median household income: $101,722
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,556.71

• Total workers: 1,352,496
• Total households: 1,129,908
• Total population: 2,237,215
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 34.1
• Average hours worked per week: 39.0
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 67.3
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 8.2
• Livability index: 76
• Cost of living index: 105.7
• Median household income: $71,673
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,141.75

• Total workers: 151,313
• Total households: 119,278
• Total population: 234,410
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 37.0
• Average hours worked per week: 39.6
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 69.8
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 5.8
• Livability index: 77
• Cost of living index: 139.5
• Median household income: $91,151
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,194.09

• Total workers: 128,392
• Total households: 112,635
• Total population: 241,044
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 33.0
• Average hours worked per week: 36.9
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 62.2
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 10.7
• Livability index: 67
• Cost of living index: 135.0
• Median household income: $46,460
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,158.86

• Total workers: 224,797
• Total households: 249,518
• Total population: 496,762
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 25.7
• Average hours worked per week: 37.6
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 54.8
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 14.7
• Livability index: 73
• Cost of living index: 91.8
• Median household income: $37,761
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $1,899.60

• Total workers: 3,991,760
• Total households: 3,282,804
• Total population: 7,037,637
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 41.1
• Average hours worked per week: 38.4
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 63.2
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 7.6
• Livability index: 76
• Cost of living index: 172.5
• Median household income: $76,607
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,682.19

• Total workers: 129,635
• Total households: 96,975
• Total population: 242,799
• Average travel time to work (minutes): 32.8
• Average hours worked per week: 38.1
• Labor force participation rate (percentage): 60.3
• Unemployment rate (percentage): 7.7
• Livability index: 61
• Cost of living index: 124.7
• Median household income: $71,612
• Average monthly cost of expenditures: $2,148.51

Heather Taylor contributed to the reporting for this piece. 

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed over 113 cities with 100,000 or more workers aged 16 and over as sourced from the US Census American Community Survey. For each city a number of factors were found including total population, total households, median household income, average travel time to work, average hours worked per week, labor force participation rate, and unemployment rate all sourced from the US Census American Community Survey. The cost-of-living index was sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and using the national average expenditure cost as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey for all residents, the overall average expenditure costs can be calculated for each city. The livability index was also sourced as supplemental information as sourced from AreaVibes. The average travel time to work was scored and weighted at 1.50, the average hours worked per week was scored and weighted at 1.50, the labor force participation rate was scored and weighted at 1.00, the unemployment rate was scored and weighted at 1.00, and the livability index was scored and weighted at 1.00. All the scores were summed and sorted to find the best cities for work-life balance. All data was collected on and is up to date as of April 11th, 2024.