When it comes to buzzwords, ‘remote work’ is one you’ve probably heard frequently in any professional setting.

The remote industry has seen huge growth over the last decade. In fact, a 2017 Gallup study found that 43% of American professionals reported spending at least some time working remotely, which was a 4% increase since 2012.

Among the benefits of remote work are a flexible schedule, time saved by not having to commute, and the ability to work anywhere. As a result of these benefits, more and more U.S. employees are looking for job positions that offer at least some remote work alternative, whether that be part or full-time.

We work with a variety of companies across the world to provide answering service solutions at Moneypenny, from start-ups to multinational corporations. Included in our client base are numerous remote companies and workers, so we’re always interested in staying up on its trends. This is why we decided to take a look into the state of remote work in the U.S.

Methodology

To determine the cities with the largest population of remote workers, Moneypenny looked at data from the U.S. Census on the percentage of the population working from home in each of the 150 largest cities in the U.S. from 2016 to 2018. We used this data to find both the cities with the highest percentage of the population working from home, along with the cities that have seen the largest growth in their remote work population from 2017 to 2018. Read on to learn what we uncovered about the state of remote work around the U.S.

The U.S. Cities With the Highest Percentage of Population Working Remotely

We first looked at which cities have the largest percentage of their population working remotely. Topping the list is Raleigh, NC, with 9.1% of the city’s population working remotely. Close in proximity to the Research Triangle, Raleigh is a great alternative for remote workers due to its moderate cost of living and availability to well-priced coworking spaces, among other things.

Raleigh is followed closely by Austin and Denver, both of their cities having 8.7% of their populations working remotely. Another thing these cities have in common is their consistent inclusion in ‘top places to live in the U.S.’ lists, so it’s not surprising that they’d be choice locales for professionals to flock to if given the alternative to work from anywhere. Rounding out the top 10 cities are Portland, OR (8.1%), Sacramento, CA (7.9%), Atlanta, GA (7.6%), Phoenix, AZ (7.4%), Tampa, FL (7.3%), Port St. Lucie, FL (7.3%), and Charlotte, NC (7.3%).

California is the state with the most cities included in the top 30 with a total of 7: Los Angeles, Oxnard, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Ana, and Santa Clara. Of these California cities, Sacramento has the highest percentage of its population working remotely.

The U.S. Cities With the Largest Growth in Remote Work Over Time

Next, we determined the cities that have seen the largest growth in remote work population from 2017 to 2018. Surprisingly, many of the cities appearing at the top of this list are relatively small cities like Brownsville, TX and Augusta, GA. Brownsville, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, saw a 47% increase in its remote work population from 2017 to 2018. Augusta saw the second-highest level of growth with a 43% year over year increase.

Many other Southern cities made their way into the list of top cities with the highest amount of year over year growth, indicating that the South is a great place to work remotely.

As evidenced by the large levels of growth in the remote population in cities around the U.S., the buzz around the remote industry doesn’t appear to be dying down anytime soon. What will be the next remote work hot spot in 2020?

To find out more on how Moneypenny can support you with our phone answering service and business live chat service, get in touch today.

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