Columbia tops list of hardest-working cities

Columbia is the hardest-working city in the country, according to a new report from PARADE magazine.

The magazine analyzed the number of hours worked per capita, people’s willingness to work during personal time, the number of double-income families, and unemployment rates.

According to PARADE, Columbia managed to keep its unemployment rate near 6 percent during the economic recession.

The U.S. Department says Columbia has “more exemplary public schools per capita than any other city in the nation.”

The magazine cited the University of Missouri as well as Columbia’s six other colleges and universities and the large healthcare industry as additional reasons for its hardest-working city title.

Columbia also has six hospitals and the second-most hospital beds per capita in the country, according to PARADE. And more than 80 percent of the city’s households are dual-income, with the city ranked second on likelihood to work weekends.

Columbia ranked above large cities such as Baltimore, Des Moines, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.

The other cities in the top five were Tuscaloosa, Ala., Bloomington, Ind., Norfolk, Va., and Hartford, Conn.