LANSING, Mich. — Michigan has once again landed at the bottom of a national ranking measuring how hard states work, according to a new WalletHub report. The 2026 study ranks Michigan 50th among all 50 states, giving the state an overall score of 27.32. It is the second consecutive year Michigan ha s been ranked last in WalletHub’s comparison of the nation’s hardest-working states. The ranking does not attempt to measure whether individual Michigan residents are personally hardworking. Instead, WalletHub compares states using a collection of employment and work-related measures divided into two broad categories: direct work factors and indirect work factors. According to the report cited by WLNS, direct work factors account for 80% of the overall score, while indirect work factors make up the remaining 20%. Michigan’s weakest performance came in the direct-work category, where it ranked 50th nationally. The state ranked 34th in indirect work factors, producing the overall score of 27.32. Oregon had the second-lowest overall ranking, coming in at No. 49 with a score of 29.21. Oregon ranked 49th in direct work factors and 21st in indirect factors. At the other end of the rankings, South Dakota was named the hardest-working state in America, with an overall score of 64.59. South Dakota ranked second in direct work factors and 19th in indirect work factors. The gap between Michigan and South Dakota illustrates how differently the states performed under WalletHub’s methodology. Michigan’s 27.32 overall score was less than half of South Dakota’s 64.59. WalletHub’s study is a ranking based on selected statistical indicators rather than a judgment about the character or work ethic of residents. The distinction is important because a state’s position can reflect factors such as labor-force participation, employment patterns and other measurable work-related conditions rather than how hard an individual worker performs on the job. The 2026 report continues a pattern for Michigan. WLNS reported that the state was also ranked last by WalletHub in the previous year’s study. WalletHub describes its comparison as an effort to determine which states have the hardest-working populations by examining both direct and indirect measures of work. The organization notes that Americans work an average of about 1,800 hours per year, citing World Economic Forum data. The report’s methodology means the ranking should be viewed as a comparison of measurable conditions and behaviors selected by WalletHub, rather than an objective determination that workers in one state are inherently more or less industrious than those in another. For Michigan, however, the headline result remains unchanged: No. 50 overall for the second year in a row. And while Michigan finished last, South Dakota took the top spot, followed by the states that performed strongly across WalletHub’s direct and indirect work measurements. The findings were reported by WLNS-TV in Lansing, which noted that Michigan’s latest showing marks the second consecutive year the state has received WalletHub’s lowest overall ranking. The post Michigan Comes in Dead Last in 2026 Hardest-Working States Ranking appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less