working hard

Texas clocks in as 7th hardest working state in America for 2026

Downtown Austin view of the Texas Capitol building

Texas has ranked among the top 10 for nearly a decade.

Texans pride themselves on being industrious, and a new report has confirmed Texas as one of the 10 most hardworking states in America in 2026.

The Lone Star State claimed the No. 7 spot this year in a slight dip from its 2025 ranking, where it appeared in the top five. Texas last ranked 7th in 2024, but the state has consistently appeared among the top 10 for nearly a decade.

WalletHub determined the rankings after analyzing 10 "direct" and "indirect" work factors across all 50 states, and then graded each metric on a 100-point scale, where a score of 100 signified the "hardest working." Analysts then examined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

There was only a 10.32-point difference between Texas and South Dakota, who claimed the top spot as America's hardest working state in 2026 with a score of 64.59 out of a possible 100 points.

Texas ranked 6th nationally in the "direct" work factors category, which examined the following six metrics:

The state's average workweek hours.
Employment rates.
The share of households where no adults work.
The share of workers leaving vacation time unused.
The share of "engaged" workers — those that are "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace," as defined by Gallup.
The rate of "idle youth" — individuals aged 18-24 who are not currently enrolled in school, not working, and have no degree beyond a high school diploma or GED.

Texas ties with Louisiana for the second highest average workweek hours nationwide, with Alaska topping the list with the No. 1 longest workweeks in America. Alaska is the only state where workers clock in more than 40 hours per week at their jobs, with WalletHub reporting Alaskans work 41.4 hours on average weekly.

In the "indirect" work factors category — which encompassed workers' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, annual volunteer hours per resident, and the average leisure time spent per day — Texas ranked 36th nationwide.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Texas in three individual metrics:

No. 10 – Average commute times
No. 20 – Average leisure time spent per day
No. 30 – Employment rates

According to the World Economic Forum, Americans clock in about 1,800 hours at work per year on average, which is 468 more hours per year than workers in Germany. And many are leaving vacation time on the table, WalletHub says.

"Even when given the chance to take time off, many Americans won’t, as nearly half of workers don't expect to use all of their allotted vacation days," the report said. "It is possible to work hard without overdoing it, though. Hard work is key to success, and the residents of some states understand that better than others."

Source: WalletHub

The top 10 hardest working states in America in 2026 are:

No. 1 – South Dakota
No. 2 – North Dakota
No. 3 – Alaska
No. 4 – Hawaii
No. 5 – Wyoming
No. 6 – Nebraska
No. 7 – Texas
No. 8 – New Hampshire
No. 9 – Tennessee
No. 10 – Georgia

texas reports labor day wallethub

Buc-ee's news

Buc-ee’s draws ire in Ohio for launching fight over mini mart beaver logo

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Buc-ee's aggressively protects its beaver logo.

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (AP) — A lip-licking alligator, a smiling moose and a hat-wearing bear are among the many cartoon animals to have found themselves in the crosshairs of Buc-ee’s, the popular Texas convenience store chain that has a penchant for protecting its buck-toothed beaver.

But now Buc-ee's has set off a Buckeye backlash across Ohio and beyond after taking on a beaver in the city of Beavercreek.

It's yet another Buc-ee’s Ltd. trademark infringement lawsuit. Supporters of Beaver’s Mini Mart have attacked Buc-ee’s online and boycotted the stores, and the mini mart's home city passed a resolution making the beaver an official part of its history. British comedian John Oliver has even weighed in on the kerfuffle.

On an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the comedian detailed Buc-ee’s aggressive history of trademark lawsuits targeting various woodland creatures and launched a website hawking merchandise bearing a knockoff “Buc-off” logo and a squirrel mascot named Mr. Nutterbutter. On X, #boycottbucees trended.

Buc-ee’s sued Beaver’s Mini Mart in late July, four months after the chain known for its extensive food offerings and massive restrooms opened its first Ohio store less than a half-hour’s drive away.

Buc-ee’s argues the shop’s beaver logo too closely resembles the convenience store giant’s branded Buc-ee (“Bucky”) beaver. The Texas-based company asked for a jury trial in federal court in Ohio.

Buc-ee's claims
Beaver’s Mini Mart occupies a long, low building with a shingle roof at a suburban intersection. In contrast, the new 74,000-square-foot (6,875-square-meter) Buc-ee’s off Interstate 70 near Dayton has more than 100 gas pumps, 24 electric vehicle chargers, and 700 parking spaces. A second Ohio store has been approved to open in 2028.

While preparing to enter the state in February, Buc-ee’s sued the northern Ohio holding company for Mickey Mart gas stations, arguing its Mickey the Moose logo could be confused with Buc-ee. (The company’s response: “A moose is not a beaver.”)

The Buc-ee’s beaver logo features the face of a beaver with prominent buck teeth wearing a red ball cap against a yellow backdrop. The Beaver’s Mini Mart mascot is a full beaver, unclothed, waving and smiling against a white background.

Customers have been critical of Buc-ee's decision to target the much smaller store.

“I love Buc-ee's, but I don't plan on going back until they start making better business decisions,” Austin Collins, 32, a project manager from Fairborn, said outside Beaver's, where he was making his first visit to protest the lawsuit.

He called targeting a beaver-named business in Beavercreek “a little spiteful.” License plates from three states were visible in the parking lot.

Buc-ee's has defended the lawsuit as protective of its valuable trademark. In a statement on its website, the company said it first learned of Beaver's Mini Mart when its owner, Vic Boparai, filed a trade name registration on October 23.

The small business, incorporated in 2017, changed its name from Hanes Road Carryout to Beaver’s Mini Mart in January 2025, according to the paperwork. That was about four months after Buc-ee's broke ground near Dayton. Recognizing a conflict, the company said it repeatedly attempted to reach Boparai without success, so it was forced to sue.

Boparai has since issued a statement of his own, though without addressing the company's concerns nor the merits of the lawsuit.

“We want to say thank you to the community and the entire country for supporting us and our business,” he said. “We are overwhelmed by your support for our business and other small businesses everywhere.”

The Associated Press has been unable to reach Boparai at Beaver’s Mini Mart or by calling the store.

Part of city history
Beavercreek City Council responded to the dust-up by passing a resolution August 10 making the beaver a permanent and official part of its 200-plus-year history. Bucky the Beaver, mascot of the Beavercreek Local Schools, visited the meeting ahead of the unanimous vote.

On social media, images lampooning the fight are rampant. One showed the Ohio State University football mascot, Brutus Buckeye, tackling Buc-ee the beaver.

Support has taken other forms, too. One was a GoFundMe campaign aimed at assuring that costs associated with the lawsuit don't put Beaver's Mini Mart out of business, as has happened to other establishments Buc-ee's sued. It had raised at least $69,000.

The mini mart gave permission to The Original Goodie Shop bakery in Upper Arlington to use its logo on a signature cookie, with $1 from each one sold going to support Beaver's legal fees. Cake, Hope & Love, a Beavercreek bakery, also is offering cookies adorned with buck-toothed beavers that urge shopping local.

Other Dayton-area businesses — including a Lego store and a root beer shop — temporarily altered their logos to include beavers in a show of solidarity. Dozens of businesses in Beavercreek already incorporate the city name or word beaver in their names.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who attended and praised the grand opening of the Dayton-area Buc-ee’s store in April, described the lawsuit as “absurd.”

“It is Beavercreek, for heaven’s sake,” the governor told reporters.

buc-ee's lawsuit