The top 15 states with the most remote work positions, how does your state stack up?

Some jobs require employees to reside in-state to work remote roles, and FlexJobs has compiled a list of the largest remote work opportunities.

While some may believe that remote work truly means an employee can live anywhere and be employed, some jobs require that workers be located in a particular state, due to many of these roles having restrictions on where employees can live and work from. Over half (55%) of workers now want to work remotely full-time, but working remotely does not always mean working from anywhere. In fact, about 95% of remote jobs have location requirements because of a variety of reasons, such as legal, taxes and licensing issues.

To this end, FlexJobs has identified the top 15 states where the greatest percentage of work from home roles are located as part of its most recent report. The rankings do not reflect the overall volume of remote jobs in each state, but rather the ratio of remote jobs to active job seekers.

“Overall we have seen a steady rise in the availability of remote jobs across all geographic regions of the United States, as well as an increase in the variety of job titles and industries hiring,” said Sara Sutton, Founder and CEO of FlexJobs. “In fact, the number of remote job postings in the FlexJobs database increased 12 percent from 2020 to 2021. Not only are remote jobs that have a geographic requirement on the rise but so are the highly coveted remote jobs that can be done from any location, all of which is great news for job seekers.”

SEE: Hiring kit: Data scientist (TechRepublic Premium)

The states with the largest contingent of remote positions

Job seekers residing on the east coast and northeast had the majority of remote jobs within their state, according to the following list from FlexJobs:

1. Rhode Island
2. Washington, D.C.
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

Within these states, companies such as the American Red Cross (Washington, D.C.), CVS Health (Rhode Island), Fastly (Wyoming) and Cigna Health (Connecticut) were just some examples of employers within the states in the list with the largest offering of remote work opportunities.

These states have the least competition for remote jobs in the U.S., and over half of the states with the biggest availability of remote work positions were on the east coast, with no west coast or southern states making the top 15.

However, as part of a different FlexJobs study, the company found that the following states offer incentives for remote workers to relocate provided the conditions are satisfied:

• Alabama
• Georgia
• Oklahoma
• West Virginia

These four states offer benefits such as cash grants and/or reimbursement for moving expenses should an employee relocate to these states for remote work. As working from home becomes a more popular option in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that those seeking these roles are given every opportunity to take advantage of the privileges associated with remote jobs.