Hartford Ranked #2 in U.S. for Affordable Coworking; Connecticut is 4th Best State for Remote Work

The share of the U.S. labor force working from home went from 5.7% in 2019 to 17.9% in 2021, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

The share of people working from home between ages 25 and 34 jumped from 16% to 23% from 2019 to 2021.  And by 2021, home-based work was more prevalent in the West and Northeast.  Data from 2022 is not yet available from the Census, which would reflect the degree to which work-from-home remained higher than pre-pandemic.

A new survey, however, rates Connecticut as one of the nation’s best work-from-home states, ranking 4th in the nation.  The survey, from the financial services website WalletHub, found that 12.7% of full-time employees in the U.S. are now working entirely from home and another 28.2% having a hybrid schedule.

The Best States for Remote Work are Delaware, Utah, Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey, according to the data compiled by WalletHub.  Massachusetts ranked #11; Rhode Island #14, and New York #25.

In order to identify the best states for working from home, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions, “Work Environment” and “Living Environment.”  A total of 12 relevant metrics were included, ranging from average retail price of electricity and internet cost and availability to share of individuals in occupations considered conducive to telecommuting and  average home square footage.

While ranking 4th overall, Connecticut was ranged #6 in Living Environment and #12 in Work Environment among the Best States for Remote Work.  Among the sub-categories, Connecticut was ranked #2 in Households’ Internet Access, #11 in Internet Cost, and 20th in the Share of Population Working from Home.

Some who work from home – particularly those who have started entrepreneurial businesses during the pandemic or turned a side hustle into a main business – turn to the growing number of co-working spaces in local communities.

Data recently compiled by Coworking Café found that in 10 U.S. cities, the cost of working from a coworking space rather than from home amounts to less than a basic monthly coffee budget – $100.

The cost of coworking in Hartford was the second lowest in the country, the analysis found, with an average monthly price for an open workspace of $93. 

In addition to the relatively low cost, the Coworking Café website notes that “with Hartford being the home of more than 100 insurance companies and many others operating in financial-based industries, coworking could come in handy for many workers who need to spice up their day and make new connections through events and networking.”

The top 10 lowest priced cities for coworking were Roseville, CA; Hartford, CT; Mesa, AZ; Jacksonville, FL; Milwaukee, WI; Indianapolis, IN; St. Louis, MO; Rochester, NY; Phoenix, AZ; and Glendale, CA. 

The Coworking Café website points out that “While some workers leverage the remote policy by working from home, the lack of a professional setting with useful amenities is driving many others to choose coworking. Similarly, the need for socializing and interacting with other professionals — either from the same industry or a completely different one — is certainly strong after years of limited social contact. Consequently, coworking spaces come as a convenient, flexible, and affordable solution for those who are looking to switch up their work environment, join a community, and even boost their creativity and productivity.”