“Work from anywhere with an internet connection” is a common refrain in today’s growing tech economy. If you want both a fast internet connection and an affordable home, use this list to discover the location of your new remote “office.”

Looking at Speedtest data from the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the U.S. during September 2018, we ranked each by their Speed Score over fixed broadband. Speed Score is a weighted measure of mean download and upload speeds that also considers performance at the lowest and highest tiers.

We then partnered with Zillow to compare our rankings to their data on median home value. Cities that ranked comparatively high for Speed Score and low for median home value made our list. The results present some interesting opportunities for digital nomads looking for a new home base.

Chattanooga takes the number one spot with a blend of fast internet speeds and affordable housing stock that make working from home (WFH) easy and appealing. Shreveport is number two and Kansas City places third. Five of the top ten metros were located in the Southeast and three in the Southwest. The western U.S. was notably absent from the top ten.

More affordable and fast cities if you plan to work from home

If you didn’t find your new best life on the map above, here is the full list of 25 places remote workers should consider. Each has the fast internet speeds that will keep you connected and the affordable home values that could help you reimagine your budget.

25 Best Cities for Remote Workers

Where fast internet meets affordable real estate

Based on September 2018 data from Speedtest and Zillow WFH Rank MSA Name Speed Score Gigabit? Median Home Value 1 Chattanooga, TN-GA 151.23 Y $141,700 2 Shreveport, LA 107.66 N $103,300 3 Kansas City, MO-KS 128.76 Y $195,900 4 El Paso, TX 90.47 N $120,800 5 Pittsburgh, PA 102.14 Y $146,200 6 San Antonio, TX 119.97 Y $201,400 7 Oklahoma City, OK 95.13 Y $144,200 8 Jacksonville, FL 113.16 Y $210,200 9 Piedmont Triad, NC 89.50 Y $137,000 10 Charlotte-Gastonia, NC 115.59 Y $221,100 11 York, PA 103.04 Y $180,100 12 Wilmington, DE-NJ-MD 110.73 Y $219,800 13 Harrisburg, PA 100.22 Y $172,300 14 Raleigh-Durham, NC 128.91 Y $263,400 15 Houston, TX 104.94 Y $206,900 16 Syracuse, NY 82.75 N $128,800 17 Philadelphia, PA 110.86 Y $238,400 18 Baton Rouge, LA 90.86 Y $162,400 19 Davenport-Rock Island-Moline, IA/IL 83.85 Y $129,800 20 Wichita, KS 87.14 Y $143,600 21 Youngstown-Warren, OH 72.48 N $89,900 22 Louisville, KY-IN 91.04 Y $170,400 23 Richmond, VA 110.72 Y $235,900 24 Atlanta, GA 104.45 Y $216,700 25 Baltimore, MD 111.66 Y $260,500

The Southeast picks up another seven metros when looking at the full list of the 25 best metros for remote workers with a grand total of 12. North Carolina is home to three. As the Louisville, KY MSA straddles a regional border, we counted it in both the Southeast and the Midwest.

The Midwest and the Northeast are each home to five metros that made our list of best places to WFH. While the metros in the Midwest are spread widely, there’s a tight concentration of contenders in southeastern Pennsylvania. Pair those with Baltimore, MD and Wilmington, DE and you have a nice cluster of places to work from home that are a mere train ride away from one of a certain mega retailer’s new headquarters.

Four metros on our list of 25 best metros for remote workers are in the Southwest, three of which are in Texas. Sadly, the western U.S. loses out completely. Though left coast tech hubs like Silicon Valley and Seattle have access to internet speeds that make developers drool, high median home prices keep them out of the running. Instead, these digital strongholds are fast becoming the kinds of places that remote workers flee in the great rush toward more livable second cities.

Nine of the metros on our list are located in the rust belt. Could an economic resurgence be in the cards in these former manufacturing powerhouses? Maybe. What is certain is that these metros all contain two important ingredients to attract the kinds of people who innovate, create and build.

Do they have gigabit?

We all love fast internet, but not all metros have the infrastructure in place to offer gigabit speeds. If you need (or want) these super-fast speeds for work (or play), the “Gigabit?” column shows a “Y” for all metros where we saw at least 100 samples where download speeds exceeded 750 Mbps. Only four of the metros on our list failed to meet that threshold.

Of course access to gigabit is not always uniform across cities, so check with local internet service providers (ISPs) to verify these speeds are available at your new address.

Seeking out your own remote work haven? Zillow can help you find just the right place for your new home office. Just make sure you ask the seller to take a Speedtest before closing escrow.