15 Best States for Workers Who Want to Be Fully Remote

Updated 7/1/2022

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Want to land a remote job? Here are the 15 least competitive states to do it in.

Maybe I need to curate my Twitter timeline and LinkedIn feed a bit more, but I can’t scroll for more than a minute or two before encountering someone with the word “entrepreneur” or “crypto” in their bio talking about how remote work has allowed them to live anywhere. They usually go on to say that the reason people are struggling is that they’re not buying a four-bedroom house in a low-cost-of-living area while working remotely for a big city salary.

But the truth is that even a fully remote job doesn’t necessarily mean you can work from anywhere. Many remote positions still have location requirements—not just country requirements, but state or metropolitan area requirements as well. In other words, maybe you don’t have to go into the office daily, or even at all, but you do need to live in a certain state or states.

Companies might have these location restrictions for a number of reasons, such as:

They require occasional in-person meetings with colleagues or clients.
They want all employees to work concurrently within the same time zone.
They need all or certain workers in specific states due to tax, legal, licensing, or other reasons.

So when it comes to remote work opportunities, not all states are created equal. Luckily, FlexJobs has compiled a list of the states (plus Washington, DC) with the highest ratio of remote jobs to active job seekers based on listings on their website as of June 1, 2022. Meaning that these states have the least competition for remote jobs.

Check out the top 15 states for workers who want to be fully remote below, along with links to remote job listings (you can tweak the location to the city closest to you!). You’ll also find in-depth Muse profiles for companies hiring remote workers in those locations. Just make sure you read each listing thoroughly since organizations and even individual positions might have more specific location requirements.

If you want to see all the remote jobs available on The Muse, check out these listings.

Regina Borsellino is a former editor at The Muse, where she covered job search and career advice, particularly resume best practices, interviewing, remote work, and personal and professional development. Before The Muse, Regina was an editor for InvestorPlace, where she also wrote about topics such as investing and biotech companies. She holds a BA in English language and literature from the University of Maryland and an MFA in creative writing from American University. Find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

15 Best States for Workers Who Want to Be Fully Remote

1. Rhode Island

2. Washington, DC

3. Delaware

4. North Dakota

5. Maine

6. Vermont

7. South Dakota

8. New Hampshire

9. West Virginia

10. Nebraska

11. Wyoming

12. Utah

13. Connecticut

14. Kentucky

15. Massachusetts