Where NJ ranks among states most interested in working from home

Before the pandemic, it was rare to find people who worked from home. Many of us take our work home with us. I’m writing this on my couch. But five days a week for 14 years I’ve driven to the radio station to do a show, record commercials, meet with clients, etc.. Even during the pandemic.

But that’s when so many who could work from home did. It was a new experience for companies and employees alike. Many ended up liking it. Some companies even found they could function better with less overhead and allowed remote workers even after the pandemic passed.

Not everyone loves the model. The newly created DOGE under Elon Musk has been trying to trim federal jobs. Musk has been on record for feeling that it’s not just a productivity issue but even a moral issue. He has said he feels having people who must be hands-on building cars, fixing machines, and manufacturing things for remote workers to enjoy while those remote workers get to not leave their homes is a moral imbalance.

Nonetheless, many still want to work from home. But that desire is stronger in some areas of the country than others. RemotePeople did a study of over 20,000 search terms on Google Trends to find which states were the most interested in working remotely.

I would guess wherever traffic was worse there would be increased interest. So I was not surprised to see the state most interested in remote work was Georgia. The traffic around Atlanta is the stuff of nightmares. In the scoring system the study came up with Georgia was highest at 96.58.

Compare that score to South Dakota’s 3.42. They are the state least interested in remote work. Hell, living in South Dakota you’re probably dying to go to work just to see a handful of other human beings.

New Jersey is in the middle of the pack. With a score of 29.48, we ranked 21 on the list. Not sure if Elon Musk would love us or hate us.

Here’s the full ranking of states from most to least interested in working remotely.

1 — Georgia

2 — North Carolina

3 — Mississippi

4 — Tennessee

5 — Nevada

6 — Florida

7 — South Carolina

8 — Arizona

9 — Alabama

10 — Texas

11 — Louisiana

12 — Delaware

13 — Maryland

14 — Virginia

15 — Kentucky

16 — Arkansas

17 — Utah

18 — Kansas

19 — Colorado

20 — Missouri

21 — New Jersey

22 — Indiana

23 — Oklahoma

24 — Illinois

25 — Wyoming

26 — Pennsylvania

27 — West Virginia

28 — Ohio

29 — New York

30 — Rhode Island

31 — Nebraska

32 — Michigan

33 — New Hampshire

34 — New Mexico

35 — Hawaii

36 — Idaho

37 — Washington

38 — North Dakota

39 — California

40 — Connecticut

41 — Montana

42 — Oregon

43 — Wisconsin

44 — Alaska

45 — Iowa

46 — Maine

47 — Minnesota

48 — Massachusetts

49 — Vermont

50 — South Dakota

These are 12 best NJ companies to work for

Forbes has issued its list of Best Employers By State 2024, put together with market research firm Statista. Employees were surveyed about their own companies of 500 or more, plus places worked recently. Five of the top 15 additionally have headquarters in NJ.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt