These Are The 10 Hardest Working Places In Kentucky

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America has been known as the land of opportunity for as long as I can remember. Itâs the one place in the world where if you bare down and keep your nose to the grindstone, you can make a better life for your family and yourself.

And while everyone in Kentucky works hard, thereâs a certain part of the Bluegrass State that takes the Puritan work ethic to the extreme â the hardest working places in Kentucky .

Whoâs the leader of this work around the clock ethos? That would be Union which takes top honors for the hardest working place in Kentucky. People work so hard there they manage to make getting to work a job.

So what other places burn the midnight oil to bring home a large piece of bacon? Youâre going to have to get to the office early and stay late on Fridays to beat out these places in Kentucky for a promotion:

So listen up Middlesborough as we explain how we created this ranking, you could learn some things from the rest of the state.

For more KY reading, check out:

How We Determined The Hardest Working Places In The Bluegrass State

Like all problems here at Zippia, we start with the data to answer the hard questions. Some might even consider us the hardest working data-crunchers this side of the Mississippi.

In this particular case, we went to the latest version of the American Community Survey looking for answers. As luck would have it, the Census Bureau just released the 2009-2014 5-Yr Estimate which would make this analysis the first of its kind with the new data.

After scrolling through what seemed like hundreds of criteria, we settled on this set for each State:

Average hours worked
Average commute time
Workers per household (Employed labor force divided by the number households)
Labor force participation rate
Adults with a college degree

Our thinking went something along the lines of if you are spent the many years getting a degree, are actively seeking employment, work a ton of hours when employed, and spend forever getting to work, you get the Zippia hardworking stamp of approval.

After we got the data for all 78 places in Kentucky, we ranked each place from 1 to 78 for each of the criteria with 1 being the âhardest workingâ.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each to create a hardworking index.

Finally, we crowned the place with the lowest hard working index the âHardest Working Place In Kentuckyâ. And, at the end of the day, Union had its hard work pay off.

Read the detailed chart below to learn a bit more about why each place ranked where it did.

1. Union

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 5,569College Graduates: 50.0%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.0
Workers Per Household: 1.7

2. Fort Wright

Population: 5,726College Graduates: 46.3%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 39.1
Workers Per Household: 1.5

3. Fort Mitchell

Population: 8,209 College Graduates: 45.0%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.1
Workers Per Household: 1.4

4. Edgewood

Population: 8,665College Graduates: 49.4%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.4
Workers Per Household: 1.4

5. Wilmore

Population: 5,995College Graduates: 55.2%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 29.5
Workers Per Household: 1.5

6. Alexandria

Population: 8,654College Graduates: 30.1%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.1
Workers Per Household: 1.5

7. St. Matthews

Population: 17,686College Graduates: 49.9%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 39.3
Workers Per Household: 1.3

8. Jeffersontown

Population: 26,862College Graduates: 35.9%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 39.2
Workers Per Household: 1.5

9. Independence

Population: 25,638College Graduates: 29.1%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.5
Workers Per Household: 1.6

10. Fort Thomas

Population: 16,250College Graduates: 44.1%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.0
Workers Per Household: 1.4

Detailed List Of Hardest Working Places In Kentucky

City	Rank	Population	College Graduates	Average Hours Worked Per Week	Workers Per Household
Union	1	5,569	50.0%	38.0	1.7
Fort Wright	2	5,726	46.3%	39.1	1.5
Fort Mitchell	3	8,209	45.0%	38.1	1.4
Edgewood	4	8,665	49.4%	38.4	1.4
Wilmore	5	5,995	55.2%	29.5	1.5
Alexandria	6	8,654	30.1%	38.1	1.5
St. Matthews	7	17,686	49.9%	39.3	1.3
Jeffersontown	8	26,862	35.9%	39.2	1.5
Independence	9	25,638	29.1%	38.5	1.6
Fort Thomas	10	16,250	44.1%	38.0	1.4
Lyndon	11	11,167	40.3%	39.5	1.3
Taylor Mill	12	6,682	27.8%	39.9	1.4
Villa Hills	13	7,359	47.7%	38.4	1.6
Middletown	14	7,333	43.1%	39.5	1.1
Cold Spring	15	6,093	37.2%	37.7	1.2
Douglass Hills	16	5,566	42.2%	36.1	1.4
Florence	17	31,038	26.6%	39.7	1.3
Lexington-Fayette	18	304,473	40.2%	37.5	1.4
Elsmere	19	8,451	16.8%	39.1	1.5
Georgetown	20	30,349	25.6%	38.8	1.5
Versailles	21	8,908	22.3%	39.9	1.4
Erlanger	22	18,370	23.1%	38.9	1.5
Mount Washington	23	11,956	19.2%	38.6	1.4
Shelbyville	24	14,558	18.8%	38.1	1.4
Bellevue	25	5,933	27.4%	37.6	1.3
Highland Heights	26	7,152	31.6%	32.6	1.7
Elizabethtown	27	29,464	27.0%	40.1	1.2
Berea	28	14,209	27.5%	33.0	1.3
Lawrenceburg	29	11,014	16.5%	38.9	1.3
Morehead	30	6,896	35.8%	33.0	1.2
Pikeville	31	7,313	36.5%	38.1	1.0
La Grange	32	8,283	21.8%	39.0	1.3
Vine Grove	33	5,296	27.7%	40.7	1.3
Louisville	34	605,762	27.4%	38.0	1.3
Nicholasville	35	28,483	21.2%	39.2	1.4
Richmond	36	32,706	30.0%	34.0	1.4
Williamsburg	37	5,260	32.9%	34.1	1.2
Shepherdsville	38	11,573	12.5%	38.7	1.5
Radcliff	39	22,939	18.5%	40.4	1.3
Owensboro	40	58,000	19.0%	38.0	1.1
Hazard	41	5,453	27.1%	42.5	1.1
Bowling Green	42	60,660	26.4%	35.7	1.4
Danville	43	16,471	25.0%	35.9	1.2
Oak Grove	44	7,522	14.1%	46.4	1.3
Mount Sterling	45	7,030	23.1%	40.6	1.2
Madisonville	46	19,807	15.1%	39.0	1.1
Murray	47	18,375	34.3%	33.2	1.3
Frankfort	48	27,389	25.5%	37.3	1.2
Hillview	49	7,785	10.1%	38.6	1.5
Somerset	50	11,311	15.8%	39.3	1.0
Covington	51	40,712	19.0%	38.2	1.2
Newport	52	15,467	18.7%	37.7	1.3
Winchester	53	18,363	18.0%	38.2	1.1
Paducah	54	25,046	22.7%	38.5	1.0
Henderson	55	28,840	16.7%	38.5	1.1
Paris	56	9,746	14.8%	37.5	1.2
Campbellsville	57	11,126	17.4%	37.2	1.1
Glasgow	58	14,152	17.4%	39.9	1.0
Dayton	59	5,382	9.5%	38.3	1.2
Ashland	60	21,551	18.8%	38.6	1.0
Maysville	61	8,951	14.3%	38.3	1.1
Flatwoods	62	7,483	16.4%	37.9	0.9
Shively	63	15,450	12.3%	37.1	1.1
Hopkinsville	64	32,507	17.5%	38.8	1.1
Bardstown	65	12,833	16.9%	37.0	1.2
London	66	8,062	14.7%	40.0	1.1
Franklin	67	8,563	13.8%	38.3	1.1
Princeton	68	6,274	16.8%	37.8	1.1
Russellville	69	6,998	14.1%	37.8	0.8
Lebanon	70	5,594	13.3%	36.1	1.0
Cynthiana	71	6,388	13.5%	37.1	1.0
Corbin	72	7,051	18.2%	38.6	1.0
Mayfield	73	10,091	15.6%	37.0	1.0
Harrodsburg	74	8,359	16.2%	38.2	1.0
Central City	75	5,932	5.6%	35.6	1.0
Monticello	76	6,163	8.5%	39.6	1.0
Leitchfield	77	6,781	7.9%	39.7	1.0
Middlesborough	78	10,035	10.9%	37.4	0.8

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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