As COVID-19 has continued to spread in the U.S., state governments have ordered “non-essential” businesses to close their buildings. This has left business owners with a few options: let employees work from home, lay them off or furlough them. Prior to this pandemic, just 25 percent of all workers in the U.S. had worked from home, and only 29 percent were able to do so. However, people who are allowed to work from home may not always have the best environment for doing so. The best work-from-home conditions include low costs, reasonable comfort and a high level of security.
Exactly how easy it is to work remotely may depend on where you live. In order to find out 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. Our data set ranges from the share of workers working from home before COVID-19 to internet cost and cybersecurity. We also considered factors like how large and how crowded homes are in the state. Read on for the state ranking, along with additional insight from a panel of experts and a complete description of our methodology.
Main Findings
Best States for Remote Work
|
Overall Rank |
State |
Total Score |
‘Work Environment’ Rank |
‘Living Environment’ Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware | 68.17 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | Washington | 64.08 | 9 | 3 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 63.96 | 1 | 40 |
| 4 | Colorado | 63.80 | 3 | 24 |
| 5 | Georgia | 62.70 | 23 | 1 |
| 6 | Arizona | 62.45 | 8 | 13 |
| 7 | Utah | 62.23 | 6 | 23 |
| 8 | Oregon | 61.84 | 10 | 21 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 61.40 | 5 | 34 |
| 10 | South Dakota | 61.20 | 17 | 17 |
| 11 | Virginia | 61.19 | 24 | 5 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 61.03 | 25 | 4 |
| 13 | Minnesota | 60.97 | 14 | 25 |
| 14 | New Jersey | 60.84 | 11 | 28 |
| 15 | Vermont | 60.55 | 19 | 14 |
| 16 | Idaho | 60.34 | 20 | 20 |
| 17 | Massachusetts | 60.02 | 15 | 31 |
| 18 | Nevada | 59.89 | 28 | 6 |
| 19 | Maryland | 59.57 | 21 | 22 |
| 20 | Florida | 59.51 | 16 | 36 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | 59.37 | 12 | 37 |
| 22 | Texas | 59.25 | 33 | 8 |
| 23 | Ohio | 59.07 | 27 | 18 |
| 24 | Connecticut | 58.91 | 13 | 39 |
| 25 | Alabama | 57.93 | 35 | 11 |
| 26 | Indiana | 57.78 | 37 | 12 |
| 27 | Kentucky | 57.49 | 26 | 32 |
| 28 | South Carolina | 57.25 | 40 | 9 |
| 29 | Maine | 56.89 | 7 | 49 |
| 30 | Montana | 56.63 | 43 | 2 |
| 31 | California | 55.96 | 22 | 45 |
| 32 | New York | 55.55 | 36 | 35 |
| 33 | Wisconsin | 55.25 | 29 | 43 |
| 34 | New Mexico | 54.71 | 42 | 19 |
| 35 | Illinois | 54.69 | 30 | 44 |
| 36 | Michigan | 54.66 | 34 | 41 |
| 37 | Nebraska | 54.56 | 46 | 10 |
| 38 | Kansas | 54.38 | 32 | 46 |
| 39 | Louisiana | 54.20 | 44 | 16 |
| 40 | Missouri | 54.04 | 39 | 38 |
| 41 | West Virginia | 54.03 | 41 | 30 |
| 42 | District of Columbia | 53.99 | 4 | 50 |
| 43 | Wyoming | 53.55 | 45 | 26 |
| 44 | Iowa | 53.49 | 38 | 42 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 53.20 | 31 | 47 |
| 46 | North Dakota | 51.66 | 48 | 27 |
| 47 | Oklahoma | 51.61 | 47 | 33 |
| 48 | Arkansas | 49.53 | 49 | 29 |
| 49 | Mississippi | 47.45 | 50 | 15 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 46.84 | 18 | 51 |
| 51 | Alaska | 40.56 | 51 | 48 |
Ask the Experts
Working from home not only keeps people safe, but it also spares jobs that might have otherwise been lost. For more insight on the topic, we turned to a panel of experts. Click on the experts below to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:
- In evaluating the best work from home infrastructure, what are the top 3 indicators?
- Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, what are the steps that an individual can take in order to successfully transition to a work from home environment?
- Should companies invest more of their resources in establishing a functional work from home alternative for their employees? Will remote jobs be easier to come by after the Coronavirus crisis has ended?
- What are the most important advantages and disadvantages in working from home?
Ask the Experts
- Gregory A. Laurence
Ph.D., MBA, MAIR – Associate Professor of Management, Chair, Department of Management and Marketing, University of Michigan, Flint
Read More
- Aimee L. Hamilton
Ph.D. – Associate Professor and Destiny Capital Faculty Fellow, Interim Chair, Department of Management, University of Denver
Read More
- Claretha Hughes
Professor, Human Resource and Workforce Development, University of Arkansas
Read More
- Matthew R. Leon
Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Management, Coggin College of Business, University of North Florida
Read More
- Rachel Williamson Smith
Ph.D. – Industrial and Organizational Psychology Area Head, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University
Read More
- Jeremy M. Beus
Ourso Professorship in Management, Associate Professor, Rucks Department of Management, Louisiana State University
Read More
Methodology
In order to identify the best states for working from home, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions, “Work Environment” and “Living Environment.”
We evaluated those dimensions using 12 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best infrastructure.
We then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Work Environment – Total Points: 60
- Share of Workers Working from Home (pre-COVID-19): Triple Weight (~25.71 Points)
- Share of Potential Telecommuters: Double Weight (~17.14 Points)
Note: Potential telecommuters are considered to be those in occupations classified as conducive to telecommuting: executive, administrative, managerial; professional specialty; technicians and related; sales; and administrative support. - Households’ Internet Access: Full Weight (~8.57 Points)
Note: This composite metric measures both the share of households with a broadband subscription and the share of households with access to broadband speeds greater than 25 Mbps. - Cybersecurity: Full Weight (~8.57 Points)
Note: This composite metric measures the number of internet crime victims per capita, the average amount lost as a result of internet crime and the cybersecurity risk index.
Living Environment – Total Points: 40
- Average Retail Price of Electricity: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
- Access to Low-priced Internet Plan: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
Note: This metrics refers to low-priced plan coverage for residential wired broadband and it is a composite metric that includes:- Cable
- DSL
- Fiber
- Internet Cost: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
Note: This metrics refers to the price per Mbps and it is a composite metric that includes:- Cable
- DSL
- Fiber
- Median Square Footage per Average Number of Persons in a Household: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
- Share of Detached Housing Units: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
- Average Home Square Footage: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
- Share of for Sale Homes with Lot Greater than 1,000 Square Feet: Half Weight (~2.50 Points)
- Share of for Sale Homes with Swimming Pool: Half Weight (~2.50 Points)
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Global Workplace Analytics, HighSpeedInternet.com, Internet Crime Complaint Center, Wakefield Research, U.S. Energy Information Administration, BroadbandNow, Homes.com and Zillow.
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