As the novel coronavirus pandemic forces a large portion of the U.S. workforce to work remotely, a newly released WalletHub survey ranked the best and worst states to work from home. The survey ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia on 12 metrics that fall into two buckets. The first main category is "work environment," which includes the share of remote workers in the state pre-pandemic and percentage of households with internet access. The second category is "living environment," which takes into account factors such as the average cost of internet and average home density. Delaware came out on top as the best state for remote work buoyed by a No. 2 ranking in "work environment" and No. 7 ranking in "living environment." Rounding out the worst states to work from home were Mississippi, Hawaii and Alaska. See which other states came out on top in the slideshow above. "Delaware is the best state for working from home due in part to the fact that the state provides a comfortable environment for working remotely, with the sixth-largest average home square footage. Also, nearly 97% of households in Delaware have internet speeds above 25Mbps," said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. "Plus, Delaware has one of the highest percentages of people who could potentially work from home, so many workers can take advantage of these good remote work conditions." Some states did not make the list's top five but scored well on individual metrics. California, for example, boasted the lowest internet cost. Households in Connecticut, which is ranked No. 24 overall, had the greatest access to high-speed internet. Maine, ranked No. 29, has the lowest cybersecurity risk. Claretha Hughes, a University of Arkansas professor that teaches human resources and workforce development, said that reliable internet, reliable technology and a dedicated workspace are the most crucial factors in a comfortable home working environment. Hughes adds that employers must communicate with their employees about ideal schedules taking into consideration work interruptions from family members and breaks. "Establish a schedule that works for them," Hughes said. "Work during your peak performance hours. Do not schedule meetings during the hours that you work best. For example, if you work best in the mornings, schedule meetings in the afternoon." For more coverage on working remotely, including best practices and emerging threats, visit our Instant Insights page, "Work-from-home: Risks and opportunities." Dylan Jackson is a reporter with PropertyCasualty360's parent company ALM Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Related: |

• 10 states where unemployment is rising the most
• Top 12 industries most at risk of job losses
• 5 cybersecurity best practices for SMBs with remote employees