One in four U.S. residents work remotely more frequently after moving to a new metro area, according to a new survey conducted by tech-powered real estate brokerage Redfin. With unemployment at the lowest level in decades and wages stagnant, the chance to telecommute is allowing U.S. workers to move to more affordable areas, while maintaining their salaries.
“The job market is very tight and employers want to hold on to people, so companies are much more willing now to allow workers to move,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Plus, technology has enabled employers to let staff work remotely in a cost-efficient and productive manner.”
Of all eligible survey respondents, more than half (51.1%) work remotely sometimes or always after their move, compared with just 44% who worked remotely before the move.
One way employers may be battling salary increases and supporting retention is by offering employees the ability to work remotely instead of higher wages, Fairweather said. For employees, the chance to work remotely allows them to move to a more affordable place while maintaining their salary.
Survey respondents listed varying reasons for packing up their lives. The most common primary justification was more affordable housing (25.7%). In second place came proximity to family/partners (21.2%), followed by retirement (17.9%). While only a quarter of participants move for affordability, almost 60% said their ability to afford non-housing expenses and leisure activities improved after their relocation.
About 1 in 7 respondents said they wouldn’t have been able to move without the ability to work remotely. Of people who moved specifically for affordability reasons, a slightly higher share said they couldn’t have relocated without remote work, indicating that remote work has enabled workers to move to areas with more affordable homes.
The most common metros respondents migrated away from for affordability reasons were the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Seattle, while the most popular metros people moved to for affordability were Phoenix, Sacramento, California and Portland, Oregon.
