Many companies now offer permanent remote jobs, allowing workers the ability to live and work where they want. Some people are even opting for the digital nomad lifestyle of frequent travel while still running their business or holding down their “9-5” job. With that in mind, Today’s Homeowner conducted a study to find the best (and worst) cities in America to be a digital nomad.
We analyzed data on 100 of the largest cities and ranked them according to eight factors including coworking spaces, WiFi speeds, number of restaurants and bars, Airbnb prices. Keep reading to see our full list, our methodology, and the factors we used to determine these rankings.
Main Findings
These are the best cities for digital nomads in 2023. The table below shows the overall rank, total score, and specific factor-category rank. The table is searchable and sortable so take a look as see how each city stacks up.
Overall Rank | City, State | Overall Score | Living Costs Rank | Working Experience Rank | Living Experience Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Saint Paul, Minnesota | 85.1 | 6 | 1 | 23 |
2 | Arlington, Texas | 84.6 | 19 | 27 | 2 |
3 | Tampa, Florida | 78.4 | 55 | 12 | 6 |
4 | Chandler, Arizona | 76 | 73 | 5 | 8 |
5 | Boston, Massachusetts | 75.5 | 68 | 2 | 22 |
6 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 73.2 | 13 | 10 | 44 |
7 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 72.2 | 58 | 13 | 24 |
8 | Gilbert, Arizona | 71.8 | 74 | 25 | 5 |
9 | Baltimore, Maryland | 70.8 | 39 | 6 | 65 |
10 | Boise, Idaho | 70.2 | 28 | 14 | 46 |
11 | Jersey City, New Jersey | 70 | 49 | 16 | 38 |
12 | Irving, Texas | 69.6 | 21 | 54 | 19 |
13 | Atlanta, Georgia | 69.6 | 20 | 95 | 4 |
14 | Newark, New Jersey | 69.5 | 41 | 28 | 29 |
15 | New Orleans, Louisiana | 69.3 | 64 | 18 | 25 |
16 | Hialeah, Florida | 69.3 | 24 | 69 | 12 |
17 | Kansas City, Missouri | 68.2 | 4 | 26 | 63 |
18 | St. Petersburg, Florida | 67.9 | 53 | 67 | 10 |
19 | Garland, Texas | 67.8 | 46 | 62 | 15 |
20 | Cincinnati, Ohio | 67 | 30 | 29 | 45 |
21 | Plano, Texas | 66.9 | 42 | 66 | 18 |
22 | Honolulu, Hawaii | 66.8 | 76 | 21 | 17 |
23 | Seattle, Washington | 66.7 | 72 | 3 | 53 |
24 | Aurora, Colorado | 66.3 | 10 | 55 | 39 |
25 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 66.2 | 27 | 19 | 75 |
26 | Chesapeake, Virginia | 65.7 | 32 | 47 | 35 |
27 | Virginia Beach, Virginia | 65.6 | 61 | 30 | 31 |
28 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 65.4 | 59 | 20 | 50 |
29 | Spokane, Washington | 65.3 | 54 | 8 | 90 |
30 | St. Louis, Missouri | 65.1 | 33 | 32 | 51 |
31 | Winston–Salem, North Carolina | 65 | 14 | 65 | 33 |
32 | Orlando, Florida | 64.7 | 57 | 98 | 3 |
33 | Fort Wayne, Indiana | 64.6 | 9 | 41 | 66 |
34 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 64 | 82 | 46 | 7 |
35 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 63.9 | 29 | 37 | 61 |
36 | Washington, District of Columbia | 63.7 | 67 | 7 | 73 |
37 | Indianapolis, Indiana | 63.3 | 52 | 22 | 78 |
38 | Raleigh, North Carolina | 63.3 | 38 | 49 | 47 |
39 | Tucson, Arizona | 63.1 | 50 | 34 | 59 |
40 | Chicago, Illinois | 63.1 | 70 | 15 | 52 |
41 | Portland, Oregon | 62.6 | 66 | 11 | 77 |
42 | Greensboro, North Carolina | 62.3 | 23 | 33 | 87 |
43 | Santa Ana, California | 62.2 | 93 | 4 | 34 |
44 | Norfolk, Virginia | 62.1 | 43 | 36 | 74 |
45 | New York, New York | 62 | 65 | 39 | 40 |
46 | Glendale, Arizona | 61.9 | 89 | 35 | 11 |
47 | Scottsdale, Arizona | 61.8 | 98 | 74 | 1 |
48 | Oakland, California | 61 | 85 | 17 | 30 |
49 | Detroit, Michigan | 60.9 | 45 | 38 | 81 |
50 | Richmond, Virginia | 60.8 | 35 | 42 | 80 |
51 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 60.6 | 2 | 64 | 89 |
52 | Long Beach, California | 60.5 | 91 | 23 | 21 |
53 | El Paso, Texas | 59.9 | 17 | 73 | 57 |
54 | Columbus, Ohio | 59.8 | 22 | 51 | 85 |
55 | Mesa, Arizona | 59.7 | 80 | 40 | 27 |
56 | Fort Worth, Texas | 59.5 | 40 | 83 | 42 |
57 | Denver, Colorado | 59.4 | 34 | 61 | 64 |
58 | Chula Vista, California | 58.6 | 94 | 48 | 9 |
59 | Buffalo, New York | 58.3 | 47 | 80 | 49 |
60 | Toledo, Ohio | 58.1 | 8 | 76 | 84 |
61 | Laredo, Texas | 58 | 3 | 93 | 60 |
62 | Corpus Christi, Texas | 57.9 | 63 | 82 | 32 |
63 | Madison, Wisconsin | 57.4 | 25 | 71 | 82 |
64 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 57.2 | 44 | 77 | 62 |
65 | Anaheim, California | 57.2 | 100 | 9 | 26 |
66 | Durham, North Carolina | 57.1 | 18 | 79 | 79 |
67 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 57 | 16 | 56 | 98 |
68 | Cleveland, Ohio | 56.6 | 15 | 63 | 96 |
69 | Nashville, Tennessee | 56.5 | 86 | 31 | 36 |
70 | Reno, Nevada | 56.3 | 75 | 45 | 48 |
71 | Louisville, Kentucky | 56.2 | 60 | 60 | 76 |
72 | Los Angeles, California | 56.2 | 97 | 53 | 13 |
73 | Wichita, Kansas | 56 | 1 | 72 | 99 |
74 | Dallas, Texas | 55.7 | 48 | 87 | 56 |
75 | Fremont, California | 55.6 | 81 | 24 | 71 |
76 | Jacksonville, Florida | 55.6 | 56 | 75 | 69 |
77 | Lexington, Kentucky | 55.4 | 51 | 78 | 72 |
78 | Lincoln, Nebraska | 55.2 | 11 | 89 | 83 |
79 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | 54.9 | 12 | 84 | 93 |
80 | Omaha, Nebraska | 54.7 | 26 | 91 | 68 |
81 | Irvine, California | 54.2 | 90 | 81 | 16 |
82 | Houston, Texas | 53.9 | 31 | 85 | 88 |
83 | San Antonio, Texas | 53 | 37 | 86 | 91 |
84 | North Las Vegas, Nevada | 52.8 | 79 | 97 | 14 |
85 | Sacramento, California | 52.5 | 84 | 43 | 55 |
86 | Lubbock, Texas | 51.9 | 5 | 96 | 95 |
87 | Phoenix, Arizona | 51.8 | 78 | 58 | 70 |
88 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 51.2 | 7 | 94 | 97 |
89 | San Jose, California | 51.1 | 87 | 44 | 58 |
90 | Anchorage, Alaska | 51 | 62 | 90 | 67 |
91 | Stockton, California | 50.1 | 77 | 50 | 94 |
92 | San Francisco, California | 49.4 | 96 | 52 | 43 |
93 | Riverside, California | 49.4 | 95 | 59 | 37 |
94 | San Diego, California | 48.3 | 99 | 70 | 28 |
95 | Miami, Florida | 47.7 | 69 | 100 | 20 |
96 | Henderson, Nevada | 46.2 | 92 | 68 | 54 |
97 | Bakersfield, California | 45.8 | 88 | 57 | 92 |
98 | Austin, Texas | 45.3 | 71 | 99 | 41 |
99 | Memphis, Tennessee | 45.2 | 36 | 92 | 100 |
100 | Fresno, California | 43.9 | 83 | 88 | 86 |
Summary
Our analysis found that St. Paul, Minnesota is the best city for digital nomads. It scored well for factors in both the living costs category and the working experience category. In particular, it has one of the fastest WiFi speeds of any city analyzed.
Arlington, Texas, Tampa, Florida, Chandler, Arizona, and Boston Massachusetts round out the top five best cities.
At the other end, our bottom five cities are Fresno, California, Memphis, Tennessee, Austin Texas, Bakersfield, California, and Henderson, Nevada. These cities (with the exception of Memphis) scored poorly on cost of living factors.
Looking for digital work? Check out these remote data entry jobs.
Methodology
To find the cities which are best for digital nomads, we looked at data for 100 of the largest cities in the United States. We analyzed and ranked the cities using three major categories:
- Living Costs
- Working Experience
- Living Experience
Each city was graded on an 130-point scale, meaning a score 130 represents the ideal city for digital nomads. Each factor was scored on a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the best for that specific factor.
Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all categories to calculate our data and used the results to rank-order our sample.
27.5 points
- Average gas price—1.5 Weight
- Short-term rental costs (average Airbnb costs)—1.25 Weight
55 points
- Availability of coffee shops (number of coffee shops per 100,000 people)—1.75 Weight
- Availability of coworking spaces (number of coworking spaces per 100,000 people)—1.75 Weight
- WiFi speeds (average Mbps download speed)—Double Weight
20 Points
- Availability of restaurants, bars, and entertainment (number of establishments per 100,000 people)—Double Weight
- Availability of short-term rentals (average number of Airbnbs per 100,000 people)—1.25 Weight
- Crime (crime rate per 100,000 people)—1.25 Weight
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau
- U.S. Census, County Business Patterns
- Yelp
- Coworker.com
- Highspeedinternet.com
- Alltherooms.com
- Neighborhood Scout