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The five American cities with the longest work weeks

Americans living in major cities spend an average of 25 minutes each day commuting to and from their jobs, according to a report from the New York City Comptroller's Office. The report was compiled using data from the 1990 and 2000 US Census, as well as data from the 2013 American Community Survey, which is also administered by the Census Bureau.

Estimated weekly commute times added up to six hours and 18 minutes for New Yorkers. Only two cities exceeded five total hours of weekly commuting: Chicago, with an average of five hours, 25 minutes, and Philadelphia, at five hours, one minute. While city dwellers spent an average of three minutes less working at their jobs per week, they also spent an ten extra minutes commuting each week when compared with their counterparts living in the countryside.  

Richard Drew/AP
In this March 3, photo, subway riders commute on a crowded car in New York. Behind them are signs posted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority exhorting riders to show more courtesy. One sign displays the message, "Don't Be A Pole Hog," while another shows, "Clipping? Primping? Everybody wants to look their best, but it's a subway car, not a restroom." (AP Photo/)

1. New York City

Mark Lennihan/FILE/AP
FILE PHOTO - This Sept. 27, 2013 file photo shows the Empire State Building in midtown New York.

Residents of the Big Apple work a longer week compared to the other 30 biggest cities in the United States, if commuting time is included, according to a New York City comptroller report. Including a commute, the average New Yorker spends just over 49 hours working, according to the report. This factored in an average of six hours spent commuting on top the average 42 hours New York residents spent in their place of work. This 49 hour work week was nearly three hours longer than the average from the other major US cities.  

New York's long work week was not exclusive to any one profession. With the exception of school teachers, New Yorkers worked a minimum of a half hour longer including commute on average compared with city dwellers in the next 29 biggest cities. New York's cooks had the longest average work week at 48 hours and 53 minutes, which was more than five hours longer than cooks in other cities. The next highest were the waiters and waitresses of the Big Apple with a 45 hour 56 minute work week – more than four hours longer than waitstaffs working in other cities. 

According to the Comptroller data, this manifested itself because the high volume of commuters who rely on taking the subway to work during peak hours, and was bolstered by interborough travel. 

"If New York City is going to symbolize the American Dream, we can't be a nightmare when it comes to long work hours and commuting," Comptroller Scott M. Stringer noted in the report. "Our residents deserve better."

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Mark Sappenfield
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