Atlanta Crowned Most Affordable City for Remote Workers – urbangeekz

Atlanta offers remote workers the best bang for their buck, according to a new study by CoworkingCafe. 

CoworkingCafe researchers analyzed the largest U.S. cities across 15 key metrics, ranging from cost of living and median income to the share of teleworkers, among others, to identify the most affordable U.S. cities for remote workers. 

With a rigorous methodology, Coworking Cafe analyzed 200 US cities using metrics including internet connection, the number of teleworkers in a city, and lifestyle elements such as affordability, connectivity, and infrastructure. 

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Atlanta lands at the top. Almost a third of the city’s workforce operates remotely, creating a vibrant community of professionals working from home. This is probably why Atlanta boasts the highest coworking space density in the country. The city offers 24 spaces per 100,000 people—a grand total of 118 spaces overall. Popular co-working spaces include RICE, The Lola, The Gathering Spot, and Atlanta Tech Village, among others. 

If you’re working remotely, you need great wifi. Atlanta ranks fifth nationwide for public Wi-Fi hotspots, with 150 hotspots per 100,000 people. But it’s not just about wi-fi connection, connectivity in general matters. Atlanta’s two airports place it fifth nationally in Coworking Cafe’s rankings. 

The median income in Atlanta is $54,930 and the unemployment rate is 4.8%.  

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Cary, NC, and Seattle, WA, also made the podium, with Cary boasting a high remote work score and Seattle shining in terms of connectivity. Bellevue, WA stood out among the top 10 most affordable cities for remote workers thanks to its high median earnings of more than $92,000 per year.

Atlanta scores lower, with a median income of $54,930, but it’s low unemployment rate (4.8%) bumps it up a few points. 

But what about work-life balance? Atlanta also has 679 entertainment establishments per 100,000 inhabitants—the sixth most in the U.S. For many professionals, remote working is about a better work-life balance, so it’s no surprise that Atlanta’s bustling entertainment offerings help make it a great city for remote working. 

Remote working might not be a new concept. Still, in the last three to four years, accelerated by the pandemic, it has seen a meteoric rise in adoption by businesses, companies and franchises. By now, it’s the norm and, for many, an expectation. 

According to a March 2023 Pew Research Center report, 35% of workers in the United States with the option to work remotely do so full-time. An additional 41% use a hybrid work model, and most of these hybrid workers say they prefer their at-home environment to the office.

It’s easy to see why. Working remotely comes with many benefits: more flexibility, reduced commuting times, less money spent on travel, and the list goes on. It also allows people to move to a city that’s affordable while offering a high quality of life.