Remote work exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, and approximately 20% of all professional employees continue to work from home now that the U.S. has reopened.
While most employees enjoy working remotely, some home environments are more conducive to productivity than others. Studies have shown that comfort, security and low cost of living are the most important factors for remote workers, but the availability of those conditions vary from state to state.
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In order to determine which areas of the country provide the best conditions for remote workers, WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 12 key metrics. The personal finance website’s data set included factors such as home size, the share of remote workers, internet costs and cybersecurity.
The study concluded that New Jersey was the best state for remote workers, followed by the District of Columbia, Delaware, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Rounding out the top 10 were Utah, Texas, Washington, Maryland and New York.
On the other end of the spectrum, the report found that Alaska was the worst state to work from home in, followed by Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota and Arkansas.
In the area of connectivity, Massachusetts households had the best internet access, followed by households in Connecticut and Washington. Households in Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma had the worst access.
As for the costs associated with running a home office, the report determined that internet service was cheapest in California and Texas and most expensive in New Hampshire and Vermont. Electricity prices were lowest in North Dakota and highest in Hawaii.
Finally, the study found that the District of Columbia, Colorado and Oregon had the highest shares of remote workers before the pandemic hit, while Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas had the lowest.
As part of the report, WalletHub asked a panel of experts to name the most important advantages of working remotely. The most common responses included less commuting, reduced childcare and food costs, increased productivity and better work-life balance.