A Triangle town is the No. 2 most affordable place for remote workers, new study says

A Triangle town is one of the most affordable places for remote workers in the country, according to a new study.

Cary ranked No. 2 among 176 U.S. cities in the list compiled by CoworkingCafe, an online directory of coworking spaces operated by real estate technology provider Yardi.

“As the remote work model continues to be popular among both employees and employers, more and more professionals are enjoying the freedom to choose their place of residence based on factors that go far beyond their proximity to an office,” CoworkingCafe wrote in the study.

Now, remote workers are looking for affordable places to live that also offer a high quality of life, the study said.

Here’s how CoworkingCafe created the list and why Cary made it.

Study methodology

CoworkingCafe considered U.S. cities with at least 100,000 residents that had data for a variety of metrics covering economic conditions, remote work, network connectivity and infrastructure.

The study gathered information about median income, cost of living, unemployment rates, numbers of remote workers and density of entertainment options from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Council for Community and Economic Research. CoworkingCafe also ranked cities based on coworking prices, amount of coworking spaces, internet speeds, availability of free public Wi-Fi, broadband coverage and walkability.

Scores were assigned for each data point, but the metrics were not weighted equally in calculating final scores:

• Economy (median income, cost of living, unemployment rate and coworking prices): 45% of final score
• Remote work (share of remote workers and coworking space density): 30% of final score
• Connectivity (average internet speed, public Wi-Fi density and broadband coverage): 15% of final score
• Infrastructure (walkability, density of entertainment options and airports within 70 miles): 10% of final score

Why Cary ranked No. 2

The CoworkingCafe study found that 41% of Cary’s workforce is remote — the highest percentage of remote workers among all cities in the analysis. Earlier this year, a separate study found that Cary has one of the best job markets in the country, The N&O previously reported.

Cary also had the second lowest unemployment rate, 1.6%.

Triangle residents may disagree with this claim, but CoworkingCafe said Cary is “generally known for its affordable living,” and reported that the median yearly income is nearly $63,000. In the study, “median income” is defined as median earnings in the last 12 months, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars, for the population aged 16 years and older with earnings.

Cary received a total score of 66.35 points. Out of 100 points in each category, Cary earned 81 for economy, 71 for remote work, 46 for connectivity and 19 for infrastructure.

Top 10 most affordable cities for remote workers

Here are the places that ranked highest in the study, along with their corresponding scores:

1. Atlanta, Georgia: 70.98
2. Cary, North Carolina: 66.35
3. Seattle, Washington: 66.29
4. Frisco, Texas: 65.99
5. Bellevue, Washington: 65.28
6. Scottsdale, Arizona: 64.02
7. Arlington, Virginia: 63.33
8. Denver, Colorado: 63.10
9. Alexandria, Virginia: 62.80
10. Carlsbad, California: 62.61

How North Carolina cities ranked

While Cary was the state’s only representative in the top 10, several other North Carolina cities were included in the study.

• Raleigh: No. 32
• Charlotte: No. 34
• Durham: No. 36
• Greensboro: No. 106
• Winston-Salem: No. 139
• Fayetteville: No. 176

This story was originally published July 25, 2024 at 7:00 AM with the headline "A Triangle town is the No. 2 most affordable place for remote workers, new study says."

Renee Umsted

The News & Observer

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Renee Umsted is a service journalism reporter for The News & Observer. She has a degree in journalism from the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU.