Employers have embraced hybrid models to adapt to changing employee expectations since the pandemic. Less talked about is full-time remote, which McKinsey reports some 35% of employees having the option. That's created an opportunity for employers who are looking to attract and retain talent, according to Colliers' Remote Workplace Locations Report.
"More than ever, companies in highly competitive sectors need to think creatively about the location of talent given the ultra-competitive landscape to get the best employees to work in their company," says Chris Zlocki, head of Client Experience and EVP of Occupier Services | Global at Colliers.
According to the report, one metropolitan area (MSA) stood above the rest, but that doesn't mean others don't have categories they excel at for employers looking to tap the best local conditions for remote workers.
Minneapolis Rises Above
Ranking the top 25 metro areas on a scorecard of 24 criteria across five categories — Quality of Life (QOL), Remote Environment, Affordability, Workforce and Earnings, and Safety — Colliers named Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington as the No. 1 MSA attractive to remote workers.
While Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington was in the middle of the pack on Safety and Affordability, it scored high in the other metrics. Colliers notes, however, that the MSA topped its list thanks to its outstanding performance in Quality of Life (QOL), Workforce and Earnings, and Remote Environment. It also scored in the top 10 for in the culture index and greenspace/parks and in the top 15 in median wage, percent of workers who work remotely, and education index.
Rest of the Best
Considered the primary factor influencing location selection, QOL is assigned the highest importance in Colliers' study, and the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley area is the top performer in the category. The overall No. 1 remote work MSA Minneapolis had an outstanding QOL performance, with the Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver and Boston MSAs rounding out the top 5.
In the Affordability category, with its strong emphasis on cost of living, the five highest-performing metros stretched from Pittsburgh to Kansas City, including Nashville, with St. Louis and Cincinnati tied for the top spot. Combining median wage with an education index, the Workforce and Earnings category saw the Bay Area bellwethers San Francisco and San Jose rise to the top, with Washington, DC, North Carolina's Research Triangle and Madison, WI rounding out the top 5.
Measuring the need for remote workers to have a like-minded working community in culturally vibrant metro areas, the Remote Environment category had Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL in the top spot. Weighing Colliers' internal crime index, natural disaster risk and hospital availability, the Safety category pinpointed St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Providence as the best performers among the top 25 metros.
Additional findings from Colliers' report included Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) and Professional Services taking the top spots for most remote work-friendly sectors, with web developer, software engineer and data scientist the professions with the highest percent of remote job positions.
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Brian A. Lee
Brian A. Lee is an Atlanta-based freelance writer and former editor of Western Real Estate Business magazine. The Wake Forest and University of Georgia graduate has covered commercial real estate since 2000.
