Now more than ever work-life balance is important.
While some have gone back into the office and are able to physically separate their work and personal lives, others remain at home as the coronavirus pandemic continues, meaning they’ll have to be that much more mindful of balancing the two.
In its fourth annual analysis, personal finance technology company SmartAssset has evaluated 100 of the largest U.S. cities on time spent working, affordability and livability to pinpoint where you can live and have the best work-life balance.
The website examined data on metrics including walk score, the concentration of arts, entertainment and recreation establishments, the concentration of restaurants and housing costs as a percentage of income. SmartAsset also considered average weeks worked per year, average hours worked per week and average commute time along with the percentage of workers who commute for more than an hour.
“Survey data shows that roughly 72% of Americans consider work-life balance to be an important factor when selecting a job,” SmartAsset said in an email. “In some parts of the country, workweeks are shorter, living costs are lower and there are more restaurants to choose from, making it easier for workers to strike a favorable balance between work and play.”
Key findings from the analysis include the cities where people spend the most time commuting. New York City has the most employees who spend at least an hour getting to and from work with 27.2%. Three cities in the top 10 — Madison, Wisconson, Lincoln, Nebraska and Omaha, Nebraska — have a low unemployment rate, with Madison coming in at No. 1 for the second year in a row.
Atlanta didn’t make the top 10, but it managed to crack the top 30 on the list.
The Peach State’s capital city tied with St. Louis to come in at No. 29.
Atlanta got a walk score of 48 and has a 1.79% concentration of entertainment establishments. Its October 2020 unemployment rate was 5.7% and the average commute time is 27.8 minutes.
Still, Atlanta faired better on SmartAsset’s list of the best cities to work from home, coming in at No. 13 and tying with Seattle.
Credit: SmartAsset
Credit: SmartAsset
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