Seattle has second highest average monthly salary for remote workers | Washington
(The Center Square) – At $6,783, Seattle, Washington has the second highest average monthly salary for remote workers, according to recent data compiled by Teamwork, a project and team management software company.
However, the Emerald City’s high cost of living – $2,379 a month – means Washington’s largest city ranks No. 11 on Teamwork’s leaderboard of cities with the lowest cost of living score and average monthly salary.
Seattle ranks behind only San Francisco, California’s average monthly salary of $7,955, but ahead of Arlington, West Virginia ($6,393), Dallas, Texas ($6,029), and New York, New York ($5,931).
The high pay will be needed for Seattle residents looking to rent, where a one-bedroom apartment goes for $1,959 a month – No. 11 on the list, according to Teamwork – which is slightly more affordable than the super-expensive rent costs in top 10 cities like New York, San Francisco, Boston, the District of Columbia, and Los Angeles.
In its list of best US cities for remote work, Teamwork notes that telecommuting is becoming the norm in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The great resignation isn’t going away any time soon and neither is the option for office employees to work from home – even post-pandemic,” the report states. “While US employees are being asked back into the office, many are reconsidering their current job and seeking alternative options, which is visible in the fact that searches for remote work have increased by more than 4,400% in the past five years.”
Would-be remote workers are considering several factors when it comes to the best cities in which to locate their virtual offices.
“The ranking is based on a number of factors, such as the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment, a meal in an inexpensive restaurant, a 3-course meal for two in a mid-range restaurant, monthly internet, gym membership, transport (monthly pass), a beer in a local bar, taxi cost per mile and the cost of a movie ticket, as well as a number of other local living criteria,” explains the Teamwork report.
Even weather is a consideration for workers looking to go remote.
In that category, Washington—with its frequently gray skies and precipitation that encompasses everything from misty wind to drizzle to drenching downpours—did not fare so well.
Seattle came in second terms of the least sunny cities in the nation, behind only Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Vancouver, Washington ranked No. 3 in the country in terms of rainiest cities, behind only Honolulu, Hawaii and Syracuse, New York.
To some extent, teamwork’s survey is in line with a WalletHub study from last month that Washington ranked the eighth best state among the 50 states and the District of Columbia for remote work.
Teamwork’s top 10 cities in terms of cost of living and monthly salary:
1. Cheyenne, Wyoming
2. Huntington, West Virginia
3.Ann Arbor, Michigan
4.Columbus, Ohio
5. Dallas, Texas
6. Little Rock, Arkansas
7. Jacksonville, Fla
8.Buffalo, NY
9. Albuquerque, New Mexico
10. Burlington, Vermont