Work-life balance can vary significantly based on where a person lives. Working hours are one element, but income, leave policies and other workplace conditions can also impact how people experience life outside their jobs.
Remote’s 2025 Life-Work Balance Index compares all 50 U.S. states with many measures, like average weekly working hours, happiness, statutory leave and public safety. The outcome features that the state with the less working hours does not really get the highest overall work-life balance score.
Maine Records the Highest Score
As per the Remote's index, Maine is in the top position. It has a score of 69.62 out of 100. Washington is next with 64.26, while Illinois has 63.65. Across the country, the average score is 43.81.
The highest-scoring states are largely in the Northeast and West. Eight of the 10 states at the top of the index come from those two places, while Illinois and Nevada are the exceptions.
Maine's result mirrors many different measures. The state has five statutory yearly leave days and five sick days, alongside a $14.15 minimum salary. Its average working week is 39.2 hours.
New York and California Remain Above the National Average
New York ranks seventh, while California is ninth in the index. Both states offer paid maternity leave and five sick days.
New York has a $15.50 minimum wage, when compared with $16 in California. The supplied details cite that these worker protections help balance out their comparatively long working hours.
Southern States Fill Much of the Lower Ranking
Nine of the 10 lowest-ranked states are in the South. Wyoming is the only exception.
Louisiana has the lowest score, at 25.01. Mississippi is next with 27.08, while Alabama scores 27.88 and Texas records 28.28.
The differences are connected to several conditions measured by the index. A number of Southern states have relatively low wage floors and fewer state-mandated paid-leave advantages, along with longer average working weeks.
Alaska Has the Fewest Working Hours but Ranks 23rd
Alaska demonstrates why working less hours does not automatically generate a higher overall work-life balance score.
The state has the shortest average workweek in the dataset, at just 27.7 hours. Despite that figure, Alaska ranks 23rd overall.
New Hampshire offers another example of the difference between working hours and the overall ranking. Its average workweek is 36.9 hours, yet it stands at No. 21 in the index.
The results suggest that working time is only one factor considered by the ranking. Other measures, including wages, leave, safety, happiness and inclusivity, also result to the final scores.
Why Working Hours Are Only One Measure
Americans work around 1,800 hours per year on average, as per the OECD information supplied, which is more than workers in several other advanced economies.
However, the amount of time spent working does not offer the entire picture of work-life balance. Income, paid leave, safety and other protections can impact the conditions people experience outside the working hours.
The state-by-state comparison illustrates this difference clearly. Alaska has the shortest average workweek in the dataset but sits well outside the highest-ranked group, while Maine leads the overall index despite a considerably longer average workweek.
The figures from Remote’s index therefore show that work-life balance is shaped by a combination of factors rather than working hours alone. Across the 50 states, the scores mirror differences in employment conditions, worker protections and other approaches included in the index.
Source : Visual Capitalist
FAQs:
Q1. Which state ranks first for work-life balance in 2026?Maine with 69.62 score.
Q2. Where does Alaska rank for work-life balance?
Alaska ranks 23rd overall in the provided details.
