Top 10 Best and Worst States for Remote Jobs

Although workers have more remote career options than ever before, some states have a higher ratio of open remote opportunities to job seekers than others. This is because the vast majority (95 percent) of remote jobs require workers to be based in a certain city, state, or country.

With the majority of today’s professionals wanting to work remotely, finding a work-from-home job can be more competitive based on where the candidate and role are located. To help job seekers identify the U.S. states with the highest potential and least competition for finding remote job opportunities, FlexJobs has named the top 10 best and worst states to find remote jobs.

They compiled the list by ranking all 50 states by the number of active remote job listings in each state compared to the number of active job seekers per state in the FlexJobs database.

These rankings do not reflect the overall volume of remote jobs in each state but rather states’ ratios of remote job listings to remote job seekers.

“While these top 10 states are considered some of the best places to pursue a remote career, there are plenty of remote jobs for job seekers located across the U.S.,” said Sara Sutton, Founder, and CEO at FlexJobs.

“Remote work is still on the rise, and through resources such as our latest list and initiatives like remote worker programs, it’s possible for workers across the U.S. to find and connect to remote job opportunities that align with their career aspirations, lifestyle, and location,” Sutton added.

Top 10 States

The top 10 states that have the most remote jobs compared to job seekers include:

1. Rhode Island
2. Delaware
3. Vermont
4. North Dakota
5. South Dakota
6. Maine
7. West Virginia
8. New Hampshire
9. Nebraska
10. Connecticut

Worst 10 States

Conversely, the bottom ten states are ranked as the worst for finding a remote job due to the availability of remote jobs compared to active job seekers in FlexJobs’ database.

1. Hawaii
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Alaska
5. Colorado
6. California
7. Alabama
8. Virginia
9. Oklahoma
10. Michigan

A full ranking of all 50 states is available here.

How To Stand Out in the Application Process

Given the demand and competition for remote roles, FlexJobs’ career experts share key tips on how remote candidates can stand out early in the application process.

Talk up Remote Experience

If applicable, mention previous remote work experience in the first paragraph of cover letters and throughout the resume, specifically explaining the type of remote work performed and how it benefited the company.

Communicate Effectively

Remote candidates can make strong impressions by showcasing their communication skills, including their familiarity with Slack or other messaging platforms, talking about how they’d manage expectations like waiting for a response or solving an issue in a remote environment, and explaining how they know when a project requires a verbal vs written follow-up.

Highlight Transferable & Remote-Specific Skills

Candidates don’t need necessary remote work experience to be considered for a fully remote job. In fact, many of the everyday tasks in past jobs are the same skills remote employers look for in their staff. To stand out on remote applications, candidates should highlight any transferable, remote-specific experience, such as collaborating with coworkers in other offices via Google Docs or using Trello or Asana to track project progress, and highlight must-have, skills remote employers want like:

Adaptability

Collaboration

Critical Thinking

Self-Motivation

Time Management

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