The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our perceptions of work and home. Because of lockdowns and other restrictions, tens of millions of people have been working at home for the last 16 months. Their homes have become their offices and they have been seeing more of their families and pets than they have of their colleagues and friends. (These are the states where the most people are working from home.)
This shift has its upsides. People no longer have to commute to offices, whether that means long drives or subway or bus rides. They no longer have to wear suits and ties. In fact, if they don’t have a Zoom meeting, they can spend the day in their pajamas.Â
It also has its downsides. They’re stuck at home, and that can be frustrating, especially if home is a small apartment in a big city. Some places are more hospitable to full-time home office work than others, due to a number of factors. (In general, this is the best city to live in every state.)
24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of the best cities for work-from-home value, using a ranking formulated by LawnStarter, a lawn care start-up that frequently conducts research into city and state amenities. The ranking covers the country’s 120 biggest housing markets, and is based on 20 weighted metrics, including measures of average home and yard size, cost and availability of sale and rental properties, and the availability of incentives offered to incoming remote workers by some cities, counties, and states. (Population numbers come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey one-year estimates.)
The best city of all for work-from-home value is Rochester, New York. It ranks No. 1 for buyer friendliness and has numerous other advantages. It was one of the country’s first boomtowns and was home to such familiar names as Bausch & Lomb, Eastman Kodak, and Xerox. It was hurt by deindustrialization, but that’s what makes it attractive today — it combines good infrastructure with affordability.Â
Click here to see the best cities to live and work from home in 2021.
Other good cities for home workers include Shreveport, Louisiana; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Vancouver, Washington — reflecting the list’s geographic diversity. There are good work-from-home cities all over the country.
Source: IntergalacticDesignStudio / E+ via Getty Images
50. Vancouver, Washington
> Lawnstarter score: 49.66
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#21 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 180,556
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Source: dangarneau / iStock via Getty Images
49. Des Moines, Iowa
> Lawnstarter score: 49.77
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#23 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 215,636
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
48. Raleigh, North Carolina
> Lawnstarter score: 49.79
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#16 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 464,485
Source: Gary Fink / iStock via Getty Images
47. Plano, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 50.02
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#3 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 287,064
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
46. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Lawnstarter score: 50.15
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#18 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 1,579,075
Source: Kruck20 / iStock via Getty Images
44. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
> Lawnstarter score: 50.28
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#4 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 244,115
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44. Garland, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 50.28
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#5 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 238,418
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Source: SeanPavonePhoto / iStock via Getty Images
43. Durham, North Carolina
> Lawnstarter score: 50.29
> Top metric: Space (#15 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 269,702
Source: Davel5957 / iStock via Getty Images
42. Omaha, Nebraska
> Lawnstarter score: 50.54
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#16 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 475,862
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41. Tampa, Florida
> Lawnstarter score: 50.81
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#12 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 387,916
Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
40. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
> Lawnstarter score: 51.08
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#17 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 594,548
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Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
39. Lincoln, Nebraska
> Lawnstarter score: 51.13
> Top metric: Space (#20 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 283,839
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Source: Hollie Davenport / iStock via Getty Images
38. Chesapeake, Virginia
> Lawnstarter score: 51.14
> Top metric: Space (#11 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 239,982
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
37. Richmond, Virginia
> Lawnstarter score: 51.43
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#11 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 226,622
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Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
36. Louisville, Kentucky
> Lawnstarter score: 51.53
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#23 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 617,790
Source: TraceRouda / Getty Images
35. Jacksonville, Florida
> Lawnstarter score: 51.54
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#19 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 890,467
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
34. Greensboro, North Carolina
> Lawnstarter score: 51.60
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#8 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 291,303
Source: aphotostory / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
33. Arlington, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 51.68
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#13 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 395,477
Source: 4kodiak / E+ via Getty Images
32. Dallas, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 51.79
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#9 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 1,330,612
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Source: DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images
31. Newark, New Jersey
> Lawnstarter score: 52.07
> Top metric: Space (#10 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 281,054
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
30. Atlanta, Georgia
> Lawnstarter score: 52.50
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#24 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 488,800
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29. Detroit, Michigan
> Lawnstarter score: 52.51
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#10 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 674,841
Source: PapaBear / Getty Images
28. Cleveland, Ohio
> Lawnstarter score: 52.67
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#10 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 385,282
Source: DenisTangneyJr / E+ via Getty Images
27. Newport News, Virginia
> Lawnstarter score: 52.73
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#18 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 179,673
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Source: DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images
26. Yonkers, New York
> Lawnstarter score: 52.97
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#6 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 199,968
Source: Rut Mehta / iStock via Getty Images
25. San Antonio, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 53.12
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#20 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 1,508,083
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Source: red7255 / iStock via Getty Images
24. Huntsville, Alabama
> Lawnstarter score: 53.17
> Top metric: Space (#9 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 196,219
Source: Gary Fink / iStock via Getty Images
23. Frisco, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 53.20
> Top metric: Space (#1 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 177,020
Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
22. Birmingham, Alabama
> Lawnstarter score: 53.44
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#7 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 212,297
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21. McKinney, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 53.52
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#1 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 182,055
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
20. El Paso, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 53.99
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#6 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 679,813
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
19. Tallahassee, Florida
> Lawnstarter score: 54.10
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#6 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 191,279
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18. Memphis, Tennessee
> Lawnstarter score: 54.14
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#12 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 651,932
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
17. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
> Lawnstarter score: 54.17
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#15 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 643,692
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Source: Kruck20 / iStock via Getty Images
16. Baltimore, Maryland
> Lawnstarter score: 54.21
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#16 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 609,032
Source: espiegle / iStock via Getty Images
15. Miami, Florida
> Lawnstarter score: 54.50
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#2 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 454,279
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Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
14. Knoxville, Tennessee
> Lawnstarter score: 54.51
> Top metric: Space (#13 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 186,173
Source: Barbara Smyers / iStock via Getty Images
13. Fort Worth, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 54.68
> Top metric: WFH-Friendliness (#8 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 874,401
Source: TriggerPhoto / iStock via Getty Images
12. Overland Park, Kansas
> Lawnstarter score: 54.71
> Top metric: Space (#3 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 191,011
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Source: GabrielPevide / E+ via Getty Images
11. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
> Lawnstarter score: 54.87
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#7 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 180,124
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
10. Houston, Texas
> Lawnstarter score: 55.83
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#13 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 2,310,432
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9. Las Vegas, Nevada
> Lawnstarter score: 56.84
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#9 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 634,773
Source: HaizhanZheng / E+ via Getty Images
8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
> Lawnstarter score: 57.04
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#4 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 302,205
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
7. Little Rock, Arkansas
> Lawnstarter score: 57.05
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#1 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 197,958
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6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
> Lawnstarter score: 57.95
> Top metric: Space (#2 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 224,149
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5. Orlando, Florida
> Lawnstarter score: 57.97
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#3 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 280,832
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
4. Shreveport, Louisiana
> Lawnstarter score: 60.81
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#2 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 192,035
Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
3. Cincinnati, Ohio
> Lawnstarter score: 61.03
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#5 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 301,394
Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
2. Tulsa, Oklahoma
> Lawnstarter score: 61.59
> Top metric: Renter-Friendliness (#5 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 402,324
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Source: Davel5957 / iStock via Getty Images
1. Rochester, New York
> Lawnstarter score: 64.15
> Top metric: Buyer-Friendliness (#1 out of 120 cities)
> Total population: 206,848
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