ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – During the COVID-19 pandemic, all non-essential businesses had to close their buildings, forcing millions across the nation to adopt a work-from-home lifestyle. While the country has now reopened due to increased vaccine distribution, plenty of workspaces have kept that same structure in place. Around 20% of professional jobs were still remote going into 2022.
While businesses embrace the conditions, those forced to work out of their home office might not have the best conditions to do so. The best work-from-home environment includes low costs, reasonable comfort and a high level of security.
Exactly how easy it is to work remotely can depend greatly on where you live. In order to find the states that provide the best conditions for working from home, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of workers working from home to internet cost to cybersecurity and considers factors like how large and how crowded homes are in each state.
Rounding out the top five was Massachusetts, which ranked number one for households with internet access- one of the study’s key metrics. In about half of Massachusetts’ counties – eight of 14 – measured by a recent Federal Communications Commission study, broadband access is available to at least 98% of residents.
Also helping Massachusetts claim its number-five finish was the cost of electricity in the Bay State. Out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Massachusetts ranked forty-ninth for retail electricity costs.
Falling behind the Commonwealth, but still catching the top ten was New York State. Most notably, the Empire State placed in third for largest home size by square foot. Plenty of space to set up that home office- but factoring in internet cost and availability dropped the state down to number ten.
Best states for remote work
Overall Rank | State | Total Score | Work Environment | Living Environment |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Jersey | 66.75 | 5 | 11 |
2 | District of Columbia | 64.29 | 1 | 50 |
3 | Delaware | 64.03 | 2 | 38 |
4 | Connecticut | 62.18 | 12 | 24 |
5 | Massachusetts | 61.87 | 3 | 44 |
6 | Utah | 61.87 | 6 | 27 |
7 | Texas | 61.59 | 15 | 1 |
8 | Washington | 61.57 | 11 | 19 |
9 | Maryland | 61.48 | 4 | 41 |
10 | New York | 61.11 | 22 | 5 |
11 | Tennessee | 60.31 | 19 | 2 |
12 | Georgia | 60.06 | 27 | 3 |
13 | Virginia | 59.86 | 8 | 22 |
14 | Arizona | 59.65 | 9 | 23 |
15 | Nevada | 59.63 | 17 | 7 |
16 | California | 59.54 | 14 | 16 |
17 | North Carolina | 59.53 | 16 | 26 |
18 | Florida | 59.50 | 20 | 9 |
19 | Rhode Island | 59.38 | 38 | 25 |
20 | Ohio | 59.36 | 21 | 12 |
21 | Oregon | 58.71 | 25 | 29 |
22 | Pennsylvania | 58.64 | 7 | 46 |
23 | Minnesota | 58.52 | 13 | 33 |
24 | Wisconsin | 57.22 | 24 | 31 |
25 | New Hampshire | 57.21 | 28 | 47 |
26 | Illinois | 56.90 | 18 | 32 |
27 | Michigan | 56.03 | 29 | 34 |
28 | Indiana | 55.94 | 26 | 10 |
29 | Colorado | 55.42 | 10 | 45 |
30 | Kentucky | 55.21 | 23 | 36 |
31 | Nebraska | 55.09 | 47 | 8 |
32 | Kansas | 54.96 | 34 | 18 |
33 | Alabama | 54.94 | 31 | 4 |
34 | Louisiana | 54.80 | 30 | 6 |
35 | South Carolina | 54.50 | 36 | 15 |
36 | South Dakota | 53.92 | 45 | 28 |
37 | Idaho | 53.72 | 37 | 21 |
38 | Missouri | 51.74 | 33 | 20 |
39 | Maine | 51.73 | 32 | 48 |
40 | Iowa | 51.20 | 39 | 40 |
41 | Vermont | 51.03 | 44 | 43 |
42 | West Virginia | 49.43 | 35 | 37 |
43 | New Mexico | 49.14 | 41 | 35 |
44 | Hawaii | 47.87 | 46 | 51 |
45 | Wyoming | 47.45 | 48 | 42 |
46 | Oklahoma | 47.15 | 40 | 39 |
47 | Arkansas | 46.75 | 43 | 17 |
48 | North Dakota | 46.59 | 51 | 14 |
49 | Montana | 45.54 | 49 | 30 |
50 | Mississippi | 43.79 | 42 | 13 |
51 | Alaska | 34.74 | 50 | 49 |
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