Richard Branson touts the importance of work-life balance and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos aims for “work-life harmony.” Whatever you call it, the benefits of striking a balance between your personal and professional lives is underscored by research.
A new analysis by personal finance company Fabric identified the best cities for achieving work-life balance. Fabric analyzed data for 275 of the largest U.S. metro areas, looking at factors like shortest average work weeks and highest cost-of-living adjusted incomes (factoring in geographic differences in the prices of goods and services).
The West and Midwest dominate when it comes to achieving work-life balance, according to the analysis.
Topping Fabric’s list of the best metro areas for work-life balance is Provo-Orem, Utah located about 40 miles from Salt Lake City. It has a short average work week (35.2 hours), a below-average cost of living and a high adjusted median household income of $72,517.
Boulder, Colorado came in second with an average of 36.6-hour work week and an adjusted median household income of $74,228, though Boulder’s cost of living is about 9 percent above average, according to the report.
Rounding out the top three is Bloomington, Illinois, with a short average commute (18.2 minutes each way) and a cost of living 6 percent below average.
Overall, these are the top 10 metro areas for work-life balance, according to Fabric:
1. Provo-Orem, Utah
2. Boulder, Colorado
3. Bloomington, Illinois
4. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
5. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles -Arroyo Grande, California
6. Fargo, North Dakota – Minnesota (the city shares a border with both states)
7. Ann Arbor, Michigan
8. Madison, Wisconsin
9. Bend-Redmond, Oregon
10. Salt Lake City, Utah
Fabric’s analysis ranked metros with the best work-life balance based on household income, cost of living, time spent working and time spent commuting. You can see the full analysis and methodology here.
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