Working from home in the Triangle? It’s one of the top regions for it, study says
More people in the Triangle are working remotely, says a new study from SmartAsset, and the financial tech company says the Triangle is one of the best regions in the country in which to do so.
Raleigh and Durham ranked in the top 20 in a “Best Cities to Work From Home” list, with the Oak City as No. 8 and the Bull City as No. 15. The list is based on census data — the percentage of remote workers, a five-year change in remote workers, housing costs as percentages of average earnings for workers ages 16 or older, the unemployment and poverty rates — and less obvious factors like the density of coffee shops and bars.
Both cities have “relatively low” housing costs as percentage of average earnings at around 37% and a low unemployment rate near 3%.
According to the study:
▪ Raleigh had 8.6% of its 2018 workforce working remotely in 2018, the ninth highest across 100 cities in the study. Charlotte at No. 12 had 8.4% and Durham had 5.6%.
▪ There were 2.4% more remote workers in 2018 than 2014 in Raleigh, a higher increase than Austin, Texas at 1.3%.
▪ Raleigh may be “a better city for employees intending to work directly from their house or apartment rather than a coffee shop or bar,” because of a lesser density of them in Wake County than in other counties in the study.
“I think the list includes some economic indicators that can be helpful for people if they’re looking to move,” said A.J. Smith, vice president of financial education at SmartAsset.
“It can also be helpful for businesses if they’re looking to move there because it also provides some information on what’s going on in that economy.”.
One factor that may contribute to an increase in working remotely is frustration with rush-hour traffic faced in daily commutes, like that of I-40 between Raleigh and Durham on weekday mornings.
Traffic analytics company INRIX reported that Raleigh drivers lost an average of 57 hours in traffic and $799 in costs related to traffic congestion. For Durham, it reported an average of 55 hours and $764. Census data from 2017 lists the Raleigh metro area with 26.9 minutes and the Durham-Chapel-Hill metro area with 24.2 minutes of average commuting times.
“It’s a good time for people to determine how much they’re spending on their annual commuting costs,” Smith said. “Is that properly budgeted into their monthly budget?”
Christopher Chung, the chief executive officer of the North Carolina Economic Development Partnership, said that when North Carolina cities are ranked highly as “live, work or play” destinations, the state’s reputation is bolstered.
“It’s interesting to see what metrics the study relies upon for its rankings. Other metrics that might also have made sense are the percentage of businesses in the area that offer work-from-home arrangements,” Chung said in an email to The News & Observer.
“Presumably, the more employers in the area who offer this amenity, the more attractive a city it would be for those seeking work-from-home arrangements. Broadband availability and reliability would also seem to be important factors, given how much work-from-home necessitates tele-presence of some kind (i.e. conference calls, video chat, online collaboration forums, etc.)“
Whether someone works remotely, he says, is more “a reflection of unique arrangements between individual employees and their employers and less a reflection of something specific about the city where that individual happens to live.”
He pointed out that the prevalence and affordability of co-working spaces contributes to the growth of Raleigh and Durham in this aspect.
Geoff Durham, CEO of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, said that city’s “collaborative and innovative” business culture suggests that the remote working trend will continue there.
“Durham is thriving because it is embracing community needs, quality of life, and the trends driving our global economy, including new office environments, coworking spaces and working remotely,” he said. “Having various options for employees supports diversity in our workforce, industries, and job types."
This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 3:31 PM.
