Remote Work Opportunities Heat Up Across the Country

The gig economy continues to be a lucrative way for freelance workers to earn a living, and more employers are now turning to these workers to help fill short-term needs. When you think about where the work takes place, you may imagine that freelancers are working in rural areas, far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. However, that’s actually not the case.

“Many people think having a remote job will allow them to work from anywhere they choose, but the reality is much different. Close to 95% of remote jobs have location or geographic requirements,” says Brie Weiler Reynolds, Senior Career Specialist at career site, FlexJobs. “About 95% of the remote job listings we see at FlexJobs give a specific location where professionals should be based, such as a city, state, region of a country, or country. And that’s really important for job seekers to know if they want to land a remote job.”
You may be wondering: why does the location matter if the worker won’t actually be in the office? Reynolds says that the most common reasons employers offer for needing to have remote workers based in a specific area include: legal, taxation, professional licensing, training, and regular in-person meetings.

Top 15 Locations Offering Remote Jobs

Because of these factors, FlexJobs analyzed tens of thousands of remote job listings posted in 2018 to find out which states had the highest number of remote job openings on the FlexJobs website. Using this data, FlexJobs created a list of the top 15 locations offering remote work opportunities. In the list below, FlexJobs has identified the top locations and most popular remote career categories in these areas:

1. California: data entry, legal, and nonprofit & philanthropy.
2. Texas: data entry, accounting & finance, software development.
3. New York: data entry, legal, and accounting & finance.
4. Virginia: data entry, computer & IT, and legal.
5. Florida: data entry, legal, and editing.
6. Illinois: graphic design, data entry, and accounting & finance.
7. Pennsylvania: data entry, computer & IT, and legal.
8. Georgia: data entry, accounting & finance, computer & IT.
9. North Carolina: data entry, nonprofit & philanthropy, and computer & IT.
10. Massachusetts: data entry, computer & IT, and accounting & finance.
11. Washington: data entry, graphic design, and editing.
12. New Jersey: data entry, legal, and HR & recruiting.
13. Arizona: nonprofit & philanthropy, HR & recruiting, and data entry.
14. Minnesota: data entry, accounting & finance, and engineering.
15. Ohio: HR & recruiting, data entry, and computer & IT.

Trends Over Time

FlexJobs also uncovered growing trends in remote work. FlexJobs found that part-time, remote workers gain back 11 days a year—time they would have otherwise spent commuting. According to the 2017 “State of Telecommuting” report, the average daily commute was 26.1 minutes.
Additionally, in more than half of the top U.S. metro areas telecommuting exceeds public transportation as the commute option of choice. “It has grown far faster than any other commute mode,” Reynolds adds. Not only can remote work cut down on commute time, but it can also be a great way to attract talent looking for a better work/life balance. To view additional findings, click here.