10 Best Work Jeans for 2021

Jeans aren’t just a stylish way to dress casually, but they are also very useful as work pants. Men originally wore denim around their legs to give them a good level of protection when they were doing manual labor in the olden days before they turned into the staple fashion item they turned out to be.

While jeans will always be an easy way to start looking stylish, and various skinny and baggy varieties exist, the classic purpose of the thick denim material is still one which we rely on today, even if there aren’t as many cowboys. In this article, we will take you through some of the best work jeans available, and none of these should rip at the knees, even if you want them to.

View the Best Work Jeans, Below.

• Levi’s Men’s 569 Loose Straight Fit Jean
• Carhartt Men’s Loose fit Carpenter Jean
• Dickies Men’s Regular-Fit 5-Pocket Jean
• Wrangler Rigg’s Men’s Workwear Utility Jean
• Carhartt Men’s Relaxed Fit Tapered Leg Jean
• Wrangler Authentics Men’s Relaxed Fit Boot
• Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. Gold Label Men’s Carpenter Jean
• Wrangler Riggs Workwear Men’s Ripstop Carpenter Jean
• Dickies Men’s Relaxed Straight-Fit Carpenter Jean
• Wrangler Riggs Workwear Men’s Relaxed Fit Five Pocket Jean

1. Levi’s Men’s 569 Loose Straight Fit Jean

First up, we have these loose, straight fit jeans from Levi’s. The loose fit of these Levi jeans means that you can stay comfortable while you work, with plenty of room for airflow around your legs. However, they keep a classic straight fit design, so there will be no loose ends waiting to get caught on something while you work. They are also 100% cotton, so you can enjoy some extra comfort in the material too.

As well as feeling good, these pants also look great. Now, this article is strictly about men’s work pants, rather than your fashion choices, but there is no harm in looking good while you work. These Levi jeans will certainly give off a James Dean look, even if you are just stuck in your garage. With a range of colors and styles to choose from, you will be able to find the best pair to suit you.

These are a classic, relaxed fit pair of jeans from a popular, well known, and stylish brand that you can trust.

2. Carhartt Men’s Loose fit Carpenter Jean

Next up, we have pants from another popular brand, Carhartt. Carhartt has produced these jeans in 100% cotton so you can expect 100% comfort while you work. The material is not only very soft but very light too. Most work jeans provide plenty of comfort and protection but end up being very heavy. Fortunately, if you need to move around all day, these won’t cause any problems.

A massive bonus for these Carhartt jeans is that they are machine washable. Often, people are scared to wash jeans for fear of losing their color, but these should do just fine. Speaking of colors, you have a wide range to choose from, too, so you can pick whatever feels most appropriate for your line of work and your style. They also fit nicely over your best work boots, so you can keep your feet safe too.

As the name suggests, these Carpenter Jeans are designed to give hard workers plenty of comfort while they go about their job, thanks to the soft and light material.

3. Dickies Men’s Regular-Fit 5-Pocket Jean

Another popular brand of jeans is Dickies. Dickies are well known for producing reliable work pants for men who require an extra degree of durability. These are jeans you can trust thanks to the durable, heavyweight fabric used to make them. This denim is strong throughout and is unlikely to get worn down through overuse.

More importantly, Dickies use triple stitching in their seams. The biggest fear of your work pants ripping when you bend over or do some heavy lifting at work is not going to become a reality if you wear these, and they even look stylish, too, thanks to the different shade options available. A lot of denim brands like Levi’s and Wrangler have become too well known in fashion to be seen as reliable work jeans manufacturers, but you can trust Dickies to make a safe pair.

Dickies are renowned for manufacturing durable work jeans, which last through all uses. With triple stitched seams and heavyweight, these jeans are no different and shouldn't tear or rip.

4. Wrangler Rigg’s Men’s Workwear Utility Jean

While the jeans so far have been fairly standard, straight leg designs, nothing has really stood out as particularly useful for working in. However, Wrangler has really gone the extra mile with their Rigg's Workwear Utility Jean, designed to be as useful as possible for the wearer. These jeans have six pockets rather than the standard five, including a cell phone pocket and a tool pocket, as well as a hammer loop for good measure.

These are also very durable, thanks to the reinforced front panels. These mean you can work in any position without your work pants wearing away at the knees. They are also quite comfortable, as they are 100% cotton in their room2move design. This is Wrangler's special, straight-leg fit, which lets some air get through your jeans for maximum comfort.

These jeans have been made to be as useful as possible by Wrangler, so you can make use of the reinforced front panels and the extra pockets.

5. Carhartt Men’s Relaxed Fit Tapered Leg Jean

Another pair of work jeans from Carhartt are these, featuring a relaxed fit and tapered leg. The leg design is tapered but also cut to fit around your work boots perfectly, so there are no worries there. Again, these are made to be comfortable through the use of 100% cotton. This makes the denim comfortable while also being a tough fabric that won't get damaged through constant use.

One little bonus is the reinforced belt loops. This is really too small a feature to be bragging about, but belt hoops get ripped all too often, so it is good to know you can rely on them and even use them to hang tools from like a hammer loop if necessary. As well as being reliable, durable, and useful, these jeans come at a reasonable price and can look good too.

Another pair of work jeans from another classic brand, these pants offer a comfortable design that fits over boots while still tapered to look straight.

6. Wrangler Authentics Men’s Relaxed Fit Boot

Another good pair of work pants is this relaxed fit, boot cut pair from Wrangler. Wrangler has a few different pairs of work pants on offer, but for a combination of functionality and style, these could be the best. This pair features a comfortable and durable fabric, which is mainly achieved by the roomy design. These have plenty of space around the seat and the thigh, meaning you won’t feel them getting tight if you need to be active.

Of course, this also means that the fabric shouldn’t rip, and that is a priority for pants like this. This line of pants also features a classic 5 pocket design, and a boot cut fit. This means they will easily lay over your work boots, without needing to uncomfortably tuck anything in or roll them up. They come in a range of colors, too, so you can choose a pair of pants that match your social outfits as well as your work gear.

These are another stylish pair of jeans to wear for work, produced in a range of colors, and using comfortable and durable fabric.

7. Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. Gold Label Men’s Carpenter Jean

Work pants need to be comfortable, efficient, and durable to help you go about your work as easily as you can. Levi Strauss & Co pull this off again with their carpenter jeans. Carpenter jeans typically aren't very stylish. This is never a big problem, as they are meant for work, but a hammer loop and reinforced panels make them unsuitable for wearing casually. These pants are different.

They have a useful hammer loop, but otherwise, they look like normal jeans. They come in a range of shades, and the Signature label always gives you some credit around town. They even have durable fabric and a comfortable, relaxed seat area for extra comfort. As a result, these pants manage to do the job in terms of efficiency while looking subtle and cool too.

These are very useful pants for work, with a hammer loop and a relaxed fabric design around the important areas to give optimum comfort.

8. Wrangler Riggs Workwear Men’s Ripstop Carpenter Jean

The next pants in our review are these Ripstop Carpenter Jeans. With 100% cotton material, you can expect both great comfort and reliable fabric that won’t rip easily. They also have reinforced the fabric used, so these pants are stronger than many if you need to move around a lot while you work. They have the classic 5 pockets, in different shapes for different purposes, and a useful loop if you can’t fit your tools in them.

If you don’t want to show off your brand choice, these might not be the pants for you as they have a pretty noticeable label on the front pocket. However, this can be less noticeable if you avoid some brighter colors. The pants are quite bright, but this should make them last longer without the color wearing away.

The range of colors available for these work pants makes them the best option in terms of customization, as you can express yourself through your taste in denim.

9. Dickies Men’s Relaxed Straight-Fit Carpenter Jean

Dickies might just be the most famous workwear brand going, with a range of pants and other gear designed with durability in mind. Recently, they have also become quite fashionable due to their old workwear reputation. This makes the brand the perfect way to merge popular trends and workplace efficiency. Of all the Dickies workwear pants available, these are some of the best in terms of workplace efficiency.

They have very deep front pockets to keep any loose screws or other items you may need on the job. It also has a loop on the left leg for storing tools. They come in three brown color options, meaning you can look slightly more formal than you would with classic jeans. Dickies also use triple-stitched seams for extra durability, so they are unlikely to rip on the job.

These pants look more formal than most because of their brown color scheme, but they are also stylish and fashionable. Durability is key, but you look good wearing them too.

10. Wrangler Riggs Workwear Men’s Relaxed Fit Five Pocket Jean

Finally, we have these workwear Men’s relaxed five pocket pants. These are another great product from this brand, and the 5 pocket design matches the typical look of workwear pants. More importantly, they use a very tough fabric with reinforced pockets. This means you can trust the durability of these pants and similar products because they are very hard to rip.

They also benefit from the room2move fit that the manufacturer puts in all of their workwear products. It gives extra room around the important areas so that they aren’t too tight if you bend over or move around a lot while you work. They fit over workwear boots well and are a classic look for anyone who wears jeans for work.

These are another of the brand’s great workwear products which use the room2move fabric design, as well as reinforced pockets.

Work Jeans Buyer’s Guide

When it comes to finding the best work jeans available, there are a few important features to keep in mind. Every time you find yourself scrolling through Amazon or another site, looking for the best pair to suit your needs, you should always be considering the price you will pay for pants.

However, more important than the price of pants is the amount of time you will spend in them, how tough they are, as well as how comfortable they feel. With all of this in mind, let’s take a look through the three main things to consider when you search for the best pants for you.

Efficiency

The main thing people need from their work pants is efficiency in their design. A lot of the time, you will have a lot of gear you need to carry around with you, and the best way to deal with that is by having tough, big pockets. Pockets might be an obvious thing to think about with pants, but you’d be surprised how many you can find on Amazon that don’t have enough for your needs.

Pants should also be tough. Especially if you carry lots of things in the pockets, you will want them to be well reinforced with double or triple stitching on the seams. Over a long period of time, if you wear your pants regularly, they have a tendency to wear away and rip. Double-stitched seams can prevent this by giving some reinforcement throughout the pants so that they are harder to tear.

If you have double-stitched seams in your pants, this means that they are held together more strongly, and it would, in theory, take double the amount of effort to damage them. If you want the best value for the price of pants, look at double or triple stitching in the seams to protect you while you work. Many work pants on Amazon have double or triple stitching, and this can stop any embarrassing rips from happening on the job.

Pants are often reinforced in the front panels too. This protects the knees if you have to spend a lot of time working on the floor. Working near the ground, especially outside, can cause pants to wear away at the knees over time, and make them uncomfortable.

Another helpful feature is a hammer loop. This is a loop that comes on the side of your jeans to carry a hammer or a similarly sized tool that won’t go in your pockets when you need free hands. Again, this is a small thing, but it is very helpful, and you might end up using it more than you think.

Comfort

Perhaps the most important feature of pants is comfort. There is no point in paying a high price for pants which aren’t the right shape, or which don’t give you enough room in the important areas. 100% cotton always sounds like a great thing when you look online, but it can actually make your pants quite tight. This is a good thing in terms of the durability of pants, but less so for comfort. It can be hard to tell how well-fitting pants are when looking on Amazon, but some things can give you a clue.

You should always check reviews to see if pants are the best in terms of comfort, but also look out for certain features advertised by the manufacturers. It is best if your pants have extra room in the important places: the seat, the knees, and the thighs. These are the places that need the most breathing room, and which will feel the strain of tight pants if you move around a lot.

Style

Finally, it is worth talking about the style of pants which suits you best. Of course, if you really want the pants just for work, style is not important. You should focus on finding some pants which are durable and well-fitting to help you get through your day. However, there is no point wearing boring, ugly pants if you could pick a nice looking pair to wear for social events too.

Pants should look and feel good no matter what the occasion is, so picking some which you like is worth the additional cost. Work pants come in a range of different colors and different shades of the classic blue denim too. By making your pants look nice, you can enjoy the feeling of wearing them more, and even use them on the weekends if they aren’t too dirty. Overall, if you want the best work pants, you should make sure they are reliable, durable, comforting, and stylish.

Expert Tip

Many of the best work pants have reinforced panels on the front, which may not be subtle, but they guarantee durability as you won’t damage the knees.

Did you know?

Not all workwear pants are designed to fit around work boots. If your shoes are designed for work, too, you want to make sure that any pants have a boot cut.