Within the span of only a few years, remote office work went from being considered a perk—or something that wasn’t feasible for most people—to a necessity during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then back to being largely thought of as some type of benefit or luxury.
That said, there are still many people working remotely (in some cases, because their company closed its offices), as well as those who started prior to 2020—including full-time digital nomads.
If you’re among them, and happen to be looking for a change of scenery, you may be interested in a new report featuring a list of the top-100 metro areas in the U.S. for remote workers. Here’s what to know.
How were these cities ranked?
In order to determine which American cities made the list, and how they rank, the team at Reviews.org took the following factors into consideration:
- Average WiFi download speed
- Number of free WiFi hotspots
- Percentage of available remote-friendly jobs within a 25 mile radius
- Average monthly rent cost per square foot
- Distance (in miles) from the nearest airport
- Distance (in miles) from the nearest national park
- Average annual temperature
- Number of state recreation areas
The best U.S. cities for remote workers
Based on the criteria mentioned above, these are the top-10 U.S. metro areas for remote workers, according to Reviews.org:
- Atlanta, GA
- Portland, OR
- Austin, TX
- Seattle, WA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Houston, TX
- Dallas, TX
- Chicago, IL
- Las Vegas, NV
- San Francisco, CA
The report goes through the specifics of what sets these 10 cities apart, and includes the full list of the top-100 metro areas, as well as additional details about the methodology used to identify and rank the cities.