(The Center Square) – Seattle came in at No. 5 in a recent study by LawnStarter of this year’s best cities for remote workers.
To determine its rankings, the Austin, Texas-based outdoor website compared the 200 biggest cities in America across several factors related to working remotely, including internet quality, cost of living, access to coworking spaces, and government financial incentives for incoming remote workers.
LawnStarter data analyst Jason Medina, who called Seattle home for a few years, delved into the Emerald City’s fifth-place finish.
“Seattle’s biggest strengths in our ranking are in the ‘Earning Potential,’ ‘Workspace,’ and ‘Connectivity’ categories,” he explained via email.
Several financial factors worked in Seattle’s favor, he pointed out.
“Zooming in on the financial metrics, Seattle boasts the eighth highest average income among the 200 biggest U.S. cities, no state income tax, and relatively affordable internet, utilities, and rent (when adjusted by the average income),” he said.
The city’s work environment also earned high marks from LawnStarter.
“In terms of workspace, Seattle has the 11th highest number of coworking spaces per 100,000 residents,” Medina noted. “Obviously, not everyone works remotely, so in reality that number is even bigger. Each Seattle resident has plenty of room to spread out, too – Seattle ranks No. 21 in household density.”
Being one of the best cities in the country in terms of internet access didn’t hurt.
“Of course, remote work is only possible with a strong Wi-Fi connection, and that’s where Seattle really shines,” Medina said. “Remote workers have access to 5G internet, excellent fiber coverage (No. 33), and a healthy choice of ISPs (No. 27) – barring restrictions from their landlords if renting.”
Seattle’s overall high ranking by LawnStarter reflects the city’s pioneering efforts in remote work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Also keep in mind that Seattle was essentially ground zero of the great work-from-home experiment,” Medina said. “The Seattle metro area reported the first confirmed U.S. COVID-19 case (and death) in early 2020, so it naturally led the country toward flexible work. By late February/early March, many Seattle-area businesses and organizations, including the big tech firms like Microsoft and Amazon, had already instructed their employees to work from home.”
The Center Square reached out to the King County Assessor’s Office about the possibility of a large loss in property tax revenue if metro offices go empty.
“Many expect office vacancies to rise and chances are the cap rates will also increase, leading to slightly lower office values,” Chief Deputy Assessor Al Dems told The Center Square in an email.
The capitalization rate – cap rate – is the rate of return that is expected to be generated on a real estate investment property.
“Property owners and developers are quite strategic and typically find a way to repurpose a property and maintain cash flow,” Dems said. “There won’t be a large loss in tax revenue unless value loss is so great that levy limitations are met.”
Seattle wasn’t the only Washington city to make LawnStarter’s list. Spokane in Eastern Washington ranked No. 41.
