Study Reveals the Best & Worst States for Working from Home
With 71% of people whose jobs can be done remotely working from home all or most of the time during the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on the Best States for Working from Home in order to highlight which areas are thriving and which are struggling in this pandemic economy.
To identify which states are most conducive to 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 before COVID-19 to internet cost and cybersecurity.
The study also considered factors like how large and how crowded homes are in the state. Together, these metrics show how feasible working from home is in terms of cost, comfort, and safety.
Best States for Remote Work
According to the study, Delaware is the best state for working from home followed by North Carolina, and Georgia in that order.
“Delaware is the best state for working from home due in part to the fact that the state provides a comfortable environment for working remotely, with the sixth largest average home square footage,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.
“In addition, nearly 97 percent of households in Delaware have internet speeds above 25Mbps,” Jill added. “Plus, Delaware has one of the highest percentages of people who could potentially work from home, so many workers can take advantage of these good remote work conditions.”
Worst States for Remote Work
Meanwhile, Alaska ranked as the worst state for working from home at position 51. Other states that ranked bottom of the list are Hawaii and North Dakota at positions 50 and 49 respectively.
“One reason Alaska ranks lowest for working from home is that only around 68 percent of households have broadband internet access. In addition, Alaska has the fifth lowest share of potential telecommuters,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.
“On top of that, Alaska is the fourth lowest ranked state when it comes to cybersecurity and has the third highest cost of electricity in the nation,” said Jill. “For many people, working from home in Alaska will be difficult, costly, and risky.”
Best States for Working from Home
Worst States for Working from Home
1. Delaware
42. West Virginia
2. North Carolina
43. Iowa
3. Georgia
44. New Mexico
4. New Hampshire
45. Wyoming
5. Tennessee
46. Montana
6. Arizona
47. Arkansas
7. New Jersey
48. Mississippi
8. Texas
49. North Dakota
9. Utah
50. Hawaii
10. Oregon
51. Alaska
Other highlights from the study:
- Colorado has the highest share of the labor force working from home, 8.30 percent, which is 3.5 times higher than in Mississippi, the state with the lowest at 2.40 percent.
- New Hampshire has the highest share of households with a broadband internet subscription, 79.30 percent, which is 1.7 times higher than in Mississippi, the state with the lowest at 47.60 percent.
- Connecticut has the highest share of households with access to broadband speeds over 25 Mbps, 98.70 percent, which is 1.5 times higher than in Mississippi, the state with the lowest at 65.40 percent.
- South Dakota has the fewest cybercrime victims per 100,000 residents, 54.33, which is four times fewer than in Nevada, the state with the most at 214.68.
- Indiana has the lowest amount lost per victim as a result of internet crime, $2,466, which is 11.5 times lower than in Ohio, the state with the highest at $28,394.
- Oklahoma has the lowest residential retail price of electricity, 8.88 cents per kWh, which is 3.3 times lower than in Hawaii, the state with the highest at 29.14 cents per kWh.
Full List of Best States for Remote Work
Overall Rank
State
Total Score
Work Environment
Living Environment
1
Delaware
65.51
4
22
2
North Carolina
63.91
8
12
3
Georgia
63.11
20
1
4
New Hampshire
62.98
7
44
5
Tennessee
62.69
12
3
6
Arizona
62.65
6
24
7
New Jersey
62.57
21
17
8
Texas
62.11
17
2
9
Utah
62.09
2
29
10
Oregon
60.98
10
30
11
Virginia
60.73
23
10
12
Colorado
60.50
1
47
12
Florida
60.50
5
26
14
South Dakota
60.24
27
20
15
Connecticut
60.14
13
35
16
Pennsylvania
59.95
9
43
17
Washington
59.66
16
21
18
Maryland
59.56
18
33
19
South Carolina
59.47
31
6
20
Idaho
59.37
22
9
21
Wisconsin
58.97
25
31
22
Ohio
58.41
26
15
23
Massachusetts
58.39
11
42
24
Nevada
58.23
14
19
25
Indiana
58.18
30
8
26
Minnesota
58.01
19
40
27
New York
57.80
39
11
28
Rhode Island
57.62
44
28
29
Louisiana
57.59
33
5
30
Kentucky
57.38
29
32
31
Alabama
57.12
34
4
32
California
57.05
15
36
33
Missouri
56.29
32
27
34
Michigan
55.99
36
39
35
Kansas
55.57
43
23
36
Illinois
55.41
24
41
37
Vermont
55.11
42
45
38
District of Columbia
55.01
3
50
39
Nebraska
54.96
49
13
40
Maine
53.77
28
48
41
Oklahoma
53.72
35
16
42
West Virginia
53.60
37
34
43
Iowa
53.49
38
46
44
New Mexico
52.74
41
38
45
Wyoming
52.71
40
37
46
Montana
51.76
46
25
47
Arkansas
50.41
47
18
48
Mississippi
50.00
48
7
49
North Dakota
49.61
51
14
50
Hawaii
45.70
45
51
51
Alaska
37.73
50
49
Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
Improving Remote Working
Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, companies should invest more of their resources in establishing a functional work from home alternative for their employees even after the pandemic, says WalletHub.
“Having at least some employees work from home creates a more hygienic and less chaotic work environment, and would help minimize the economic damage of future crises like the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jill. “Letting employees work from home could lead to a general boost in worker morale, too, considering the majority of people who currently work from home want to continue doing so.”
And for remote workers, WalletHub has some advice:
“People who work from home should treat it the same way as they would going to their place of work normally. They should continue to follow their daily work routine, just without the commute,” said Jill.
“It’s important for workers to be punctual and minimize the number of distractions around them from things in their house that wouldn’t be at work, such as a TV. However, workers could consider getting a little extra sleep or having a better breakfast in the time they normally would have spent commuting.”
