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Escape the Office: Top 10 Cities for Freelancers and Telecommuters

Who needs to schlep to an office, anyway? The stale air, the staler doughnuts, the stalest meetings—and let’s not even talk about the little weasel who keeps stealing your pastrami sandwich from the office fridge. Why subject yourself to such abuse? It’s no wonder more and more Americans are saying no mas.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, 37% of Americans cut the cord and telecommuted remotely in 2015, up from a paltry 9% a couple of decades ago. And the ranks of fully independent freelancers are swelling even faster, thanks in part to the rise of such “gig economy” behemoths as Uber and TaskRabbit.

Modern technology (hello, high-speed internet, Google Hangouts, and Pokemon Go) helped make this paradigm shift possible and even pleasurable. But here’s the deal: When it comes to spending your workdays (and nights) untethered from an office, not all hometowns are created equal. Freelancers and telecommuters can get lonely. They get paunchy. They get ever so slightly stir-crazy. They have needs.

The hardworking data analysts at realtor.com® (who, not coincidentally, frequently request WFH, or work from home, days) stepped in to help. They took a deep dive into the top 100 metros in the country, based on the number of households, to figure out the spots that are most suited for freelance and telecommuting life—places that are affordable, fun, and WFH-friendly . They factored in the following:

• Median metro home prices, according to realtor.com
• Median metro one-bedroom rental prices, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data
• Costs of state and local taxes, according to the Tax Foundation
• Cost of individual health care plans, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation
• Cost of high-bandwidth internet connections, according to BroadbandNow.com
• Walkability, according to WalkScore.com
• Number of coffee shops with free Wi-Fi per capita, according to Yelp
• Number of gyms per capita, according to Yelp
• Number of bars open at 3 p.m. per capita, according to Yelp (If you’re wondering why this entry is here, ask a freelancer.)

The metros we singled out include the cities and their surrounding suburbs. Ready? Let’s get to work!

1. Las Vegas, NV

Median listing price: $241,500
Median one-bedroom rental price: $827

Nobody should be surprised that Las Vegas has plenty to offer freelancers craving a work break (baccarat, anyone?). Per capita, Sin City has the second highest number of bars open in the afternoon—no shocker there. (Keep reading to find No. 1.) But what’s easy to overlook is what else Las Vegas offers freelancers.

Nevada has no state income tax, housing prices are reasonable, and Vegas has almost as many coffee shops with free Wi-Fi as Seattle. We suspect that once you’ve tried working poolside while on vacation, you (and your laptop) might consider staying in Vegas.

2. Salt Lake City, UT

Median listing price: $347,200
Median one-bedroom rental price: $790.15

Despite the area’s large population of Mormons, most of whom shun coffee, the metro somehow boasts some of the most caffeinated beverage shops per capita in the country. The area also offers telecommuters and freelancers the chance to sneak away from their laptops for a morning of skiing or a late afternoon hike in the nearby Wasatch Mountains.

The generally young and active population (we mentioned the Wasatch Mountains, right?) keeps health care premiums correspondingly low. To top things off, Salt Lake City residents have access to blazingly fast fiber internet.

3. St. Louis, MO

Median listing price: $179,900
Median one-bedroom rental price: $683.79

St. Louis offers exceptionally low housing costs and a quickly revitalizing, walkable downtown. It’s also home to a number of co-working spaces, with new ones being opened at a breakneck pace, perfect for freelancers and telecommuters craving company.

The city is also home to one of the nation’s top medical schools, Washington University in St. Louis, and the vibrant biotech community surrounding the school may give ambitious freelancers opportunities to network.

Outside of work, the city offers free admission to museums (perfect for cash-strapped freelancers), including the St. Louis Art Museum, one of the country’s largest art museums.

4. Pittsburgh, PA

Median listing price: $166,300
Median one-bedroom rental price: $700.38

Pittsburgh might just be the country’s best big city for freelancers or telecommuters who want to stretch their dollars. Median home prices are the lowest on the list—meaning contractors on a budget could buy a home for less than what they’d shell out on just a 20% down payment in San Francisco.

While it has fewer coffee shops than some of our other metros (and somewhat slower internet service), the city’s downtown is remarkably walkable. There are museums and universities that date to its time as a major industrial city. But unlike many other former manufacturing hubs, Pittsburgh has been reinventing itself as a tech center—which means more opportunities for the digitally inclined contract worker.

5. Atlanta, GA

Median listing price: $274,300
Median one-bedroom rental price: $867.41

Atlanta freelancers can take advantage of the Freelance Forum, a group set up to help contract workers network and learn new skills in their fields. They can also enjoy the advantages of a major metro area, as evidenced by Google currently finishing up construction of its fiber network (faster internet, woohoo!). The Southern mecca was recently rated one of the top 10 U.S. cities where renters can afford to become homeowners, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

6. Orlando, FL

Median listing price: $269,900
Median one-bedroom rental price: $881

Here’s a data point we’re not sure Orlando will be proud of: It has the most bars that are open in midafternoon per capita of any city in the country. But to balance that, it also has the most gyms per capita on our list so residents can, in theory, work off those beer bellies.

When not drinking, exercising, or, you know, working, independent and remote workers can take advantage of their flexible schedules to visit the area’s famous amusement parks (e.g., Walt Disney World) during off-peak hours.

When they finally get around to making some money, residents have access to high-speed internet in their homes and an impressive number of coffee shops.

7. Knoxville, TN

Median listing price: $225,000
Median One-Bedroom Rental Price: $673.21

Knoxville is yet another city where residents can revel in the relatively low cost of living. Median home prices are reasonable, and the state has one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation with no income tax.

While Knoxville has fewer coffee shops and bookstores (a favorite of freelancers) than other cities, workers have plenty of other places to entertain themselves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is less than an hour away, and local sports fans can catch a game at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

8. Cincinnati, OH

Median listing price: $189,900
Median one-bedroom rental price: $638.66

Cincinnati has a growing community of independent professionals, as evidenced by the number of co-working spaces popping up for those seeking a break from their homes—and maybe even a bit of company while they work.

There are lots of gyms, as well as the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (the country’s second oldest zoo) and the Cincinnati Art Museum to entertain home workers who need an injection of sanity or culture, or who are experiencing a seasonal slowdown in business.

9. Minneapolis, MN

Median listing price: $289,900
Median one-bedroom rental price: $859.57

Minneapolis has quite the unique co-working spaces in COCO, a chain of shared and collaborative offices. The COCO group has several locations, including the former trading floor of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. (The downtown location features a Zen garden!)

Home prices and rents in Minneapolis are higher than in other cities on our list, but that’s partly offset by the lower health insurance premiums that locals pay due to the city’s young population.

It’s also one of the most bicycle-friendly metros in the country for those who want to cycle over to their favorite coffee shops. Or bars.

10. New Orleans, LA

Median listing price: $249,000
Median one-bedroom rental price: $829.85

With low tax rates and housing costs, New Orleans offers freelancers and telecommuters a chance to live in a vibrant (hello, Fat Tuesday) city without breaking the bank.

Like most of the cities on our list, New Orleans has seen a surge of co-working spaces open over the past few years. In the evenings, the city’s famous jazz clubs, Cajun restaurants, and bars provide plenty of reasons to leave the house for somewhat less productive pastimes—such as finding the best Sazerac cocktail. Hey, is it quitting time yet?

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