While some CEOs are insisting their staff return to company offices, a number of employees are reluctant to leave their sofas behind. Some have chosen to turn a blind eye and simply not respond to return-to-office mandates, and others have threatened to quit if they don’t get to continue working remotely.
While one of the appeals of virtual work is that it can technically occur anywhere—certain states have accepted at-home options more readily and have a higher number of remote job openings.
California comes out on top as the state that has the largest share of remote roles, according to Coresignal’s survey of over 40 million job openings in North America and Europe, from 2020 to 2022
But as Coresignal points out, many companies in Silicon Valley have started to leave the Golden State. A number of big tech firms have relocated their headquarters to southern states as CEOs attempt to avoid California’s high taxes and strict regulations.
Texas comes in second place for most remote job listings, and it’s coming close to stealing California’s title as the best state to find remote work. In California, remote jobs decreased by around 5% from 2020 to 2022. In many cases, California’s loss has been Texas’ gain.
Oracle moved its corporate home from California to Austin in 2021. Later that year, Elon Musk followed suit and announced that Tesla would also be moving its headquarters to Austin.
Here are the top 10 states that have the highest share of remote jobs in 2021:
- California
- Texas
- New York
- New Jersey
- Florida
- Illinois
- North Carolina
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Washington
Remote work remains attractive to employees across all states, as white-collar workers enjoy the flexibility of working from home. A Gallup study from October 2021, found that three in 10 employees currently working are extremely likely to look for another job if their employer stops offering remote work.
While hybrid work has become increasingly popular, certain groups, especially younger workers, have started to recognize the benefits of in-person options.
Still there are many Americans who want to work remote jobs forever, and companies have been accommodating worker demand: There’s been an increase in the number of remote job opportunities since the start of the pandemic. Last summer, the number of remote roles increased by whopping 67% from June to August, according to a report from Coresignal.
But there’s been a recent dip in the number of roles that accept fully at-home work: The same Coresignal study found that since February just 10 to 15% of open positions offer a fully remote option.
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