Best states to work from home, ranked: See where your remote set-up is listed
Popular states ranking high included Washington, Utah and Massachusetts — but there was one big surprise for No. 1
WalletHub recently announced its 2024 list of the best states to work from home — and many are located within one region of the United States.
Working from home became both necessary and popular in certain industries during and after the 2020 COVID pandemic — and many workers have yet to be part of a physical office since that time, although many companies have called workers back to the office for at least several days a week. (Some companies never had remote work.)
Between Oct. 2023 and Jan. 2024, over 21% of workers who could work from home did so five or more days a week, while over 67% did so at least once a week, as WalletHub reported from a WFH Research survey.
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To see for themselves which states were the best to work remotely, WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics.
Some of the categories include household internet access, cybersecurity, potential telecommuters, average retail price of electricity, internet cost and average home square footage.
Working from home has become more popular today after the COVID pandemic. Some companies and industries, of course, have never instituted remote work for a variety of key reasons. (iStock / iStock)
See which ones made the top of this list ...
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Here is the countdown of the 10 most popular states for remote work from WalletHub.
10. North Carolina
9. Massachusetts
Massachusetts came in at No. 9 in a list of best states for working remotely. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
8. Pennsylvania
7. Washington
6. Connecticut
The District of Columbia also ranked high in the list of top places to work from home. (iStock / iStock)
5. Washington, D.C.
4. Maryland
3. Delaware
2. Utah
Utah is one of the top states on WalletHub's list of best states in the country to work from home. (iStock / iStock)
1. New Jersey
New Jersey took the No. 1 spot for the best states for remote work thanks to its high work environment rank, with cheapest internet prices and high access to broadband.
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The Garden State is also above average when it comes to cybersecurity — and about 13% of the workforce there currently works from home.
New Jersey took home the top spot for the best state to work remotely. (iStock / iStock)
Utah placed No. 2 and was one of the few states in the top 10 that was not in the Northeast.
It ranked high for its low electricity prices, reasonable internet costs and high average home square footage.
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WalletHub said that 14% of Utah’s workforce currently works from home, but 95% could do so in the future.
Delaware ranked No. 3 in the best states to work remotely for its low internet cost, high broadband internet access and nice median amount of square footage per person, which is about 911 square feet, per WalletHub.
Although many flocked from big cities to southern states known for land and sun, such as Texas and Florida, those two states were not among the top 10.
Florida was notably not in the top 10 list from WalletHub, but rather at No. 17 on the list. (iStock / iStock)
Texas ranked at No. 15, while Florida came in at No. 17.
Other notable spots on the list included California at No. 29, New York at No. 30, Hawaii at No. 32 and Alaska coming in last at No. 51.
WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe told Fox News Digital that one of the most notable shifts in the list over the years was the state of New Jersey.
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"One notable shift is the rise of New Jersey as the top state for remote work, which is a stark contrast to its 2020 ranking during the pandemic year (14th)," she said.
She continued, "This transformation demonstrates how states adapt to evolving work trends post-pandemic."
WalletHub announced the list of the top states to work remotely in 2024. (iStock / iStock)
Happe said the "persistence of remote work emphasizes a fundamental change in work culture."
She added, "These rankings highlight how states have adapted to the demands of remote work, with factors such as internet infrastructure, housing size, and cybersecurity playing pivotal roles."
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