Australia’s 10 hardest-working cities have been revealed, and not a single capital city made the cut

Australia’s got a reputation for having some of the hardest workers on the planet. We put in the hours and reap the rewards, with our robust economy and apparently high living standards contributing to us consistently ranking as one of the best countries on Earth. But where exactly will you find the biggest hustlers in Australia?

Researchers from global seasonal job platform, Snow Season Central, have ranked Australia’s 50 most populated cities from hardest-working to least. They scored all cities on a 100-point scale, where 80 points were dedicated to direct work factors (like average workweek hours, employment rate, and unused vacation time) and the remaining 20 points were dedicated to indirect work factors (like commute time, jobs availability, and amount of free time folks have per day).

After crunching the numbers, the seaside city of Warrnambool on Victoria’s rugged southwestern coast came out on top as Australia’s hardest-working city. With just 3 per cent of households having no working adults, it boasts the lowest unemployment rate out of any city in the country. On top of this, almost 10 per cent of Warrnambool’s residents juggle multiple jobs, and 64 per cent leave their vacation time untouched. This checks out, given it's the largest town along the Great Ocean Road, where locals often have to work during peak seasons while the rest of the country is in holiday mode.

The title of Australia’s second hardest-working city went to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, the country’s largest outback city. With mining at the heart of the local economy, it’s estimated that around 25 to 30 per cent of the workforce here is employed in mining-related jobs. This industry is known for its long shifts and intense physical labour, with Kalgoorlie clocking the highest average workweek hours in Australia at 38.2.

When it comes to the hardest working states in Australia, New South Wales cities dominate the top ten with five entries, while Victoria and Western Australia follow behind with two each. 

While no capital cities cracked the top ten, the researchers created their own dedicated rankings to compare the big-name metropolises. Canberra took the crown as the hardest-working capital city in the nation, followed by Darwin, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. You can check out the full rankings here or see our snapshot below.

Here are the ten hardest-working cities in Australia:

1. Warrnambool, VIC
2. Kalgoorlie, WA
3. Alice Springs, NT
4. Warragul, VIC
5. Bowral, NSW
6. Bathurst, NSW
7. Tamworth, NSW
8. Albany, WA
9. Dubbo, NSW
10. Orange, NSW

Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Australia newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. 

RECOMMENDED:

⭐️ First look: blockbuster exhibition recreating the final days of Pompeii to debut in Australia

🌳 Australia ranks seventh in the world for its nature conservation efforts

🧖🏻 This dreamy bathhouse just won Australia’s Best Day Spa for the third year running