The States Where a Remote Salary Goes the Furthest in 2026
Remote work has given millions of Americans more freedom over where they live, but moving to a lower-tax state does not always mean keeping more of your paycheck.
A new study has revealed the most tax-friendly states for remote workers, looking beyond taxes alone to see where working from home can actually pay off.
PEO Metrics compared states using five factors that can affect a remote worker’s finances and day-to-day setup: taxation, salaries compared with local living costs, internet speeds, the share of people already working remotely, and monthly electricity bills.
Nevada’s first-place finish shows why the state can be particularly attractive to people whose office is wherever their laptop happens to be.
It receives the strongest ROAM tax ranking in the study, while remote salaries are relatively strong compared with local living costs. Workers also benefit from average internet speeds of 220.91 Mbps and an electricity bill of around $112 per month.
Washington takes second place and has one of the most established remote-working cultures in the country. More than one in five workers, 20.5%, work remotely, the highest proportion among the top 10 states.
Texas follows in third. Its average internet speed reaches 225.74 Mbps, faster than both Nevada and Washington. However, remote workers may feel the difference when the utility bill arrives, with average monthly electricity costs of $176, the highest among the top 10.
South Dakota is fourth and offers one of the strongest salary-to-cost-of-living balances in the ranking at 1.79. New Hampshire rounds out the top five, combining a favorable tax position with 217.06 Mbps internet and a relatively high 17.3% remote-working rate.
One of the biggest surprises is Florida. Despite its strong position for taxation and fast 232.8 Mbps internet, the state ranks only 13th overall. Its remote salary-to-cost-of-living ratio stands at just 1.03, showing how higher everyday costs can reduce the benefit of a favorable tax environment.
At the opposite end of the ranking, New York places last among the 48 states analyzed. It has a salary-to-cost-of-living ratio of just 1.15 and ranks near the bottom for taxation.
Massachusetts follows in 47th place despite 18.4% of workers working remotely, while Mississippi ranks 46th.
The full list:
Rank | State | ROAM taxation index | Remote salary to cost of living ratio | Average internet speed (Mbps) | Share of remote workers | Average monthly electricity bill cost | Total score |
1 | Nevada | 1 | 1.75 | 220.91 | 12.2 | 112 | 81.38 |
2 | Washington | 1 | 1.57 | 201.11 | 20.5 | 124 | 78.28 |
3 | Texas | 1 | 1.55 | 225.74 | 14.5 | 176 | 74.30 |
4 | South Dakota | 1 | 1.79 | 164.71 | 9.9 | 128 | 73.35 |
5 | New Hampshire | 1 | 1.43 | 217.06 | 17.3 | 144 | 73.12 |
6 | Wyoming | 1 | 1.75 | 147.19 | 9.1 | 108 | 70.61 |
7 | Tennessee | 1 | 1.46 | 205.07 | 13.3 | 159 | 69.26 |
8 | Indiana | 10 | 1.74 | 206.46 | 10.5 | 146 | 69.06 |
9 | North Dakota | 17 | 2.06 | 171.03 | 7.6 | 114 | 67.99 |
10 | Minnesota | 13 | 1.69 | 164.68 | 17.2 | 111 | 65.96 |
11 | Arizona | 15 | 1.53 | 200.64 | 19.2 | 153 | 63.16 |
12 | Illinois | 11 | 1.37 | 201.12 | 15.8 | 112 | 61.99 |
13 | Florida | 1 | 1.03 | 232.8 | 16.4 | 166 | 61.55 |
14 | Maryland | 23 | 1.49 | 238.26 | 19.2 | 170 | 59.23 |
15 | Ohio | 19 | 1.68 | 188.2 | 13 | 151 | 59.08 |
16 | Wisconsin | 21 | 1.70 | 183.11 | 13 | 118 | 58.93 |
17 | Virginia | 24 | 1.50 | 230.49 | 18.2 | 157 | 57.86 |
18 | Montana | 12 | 1.53 | 129.73 | 12.6 | 107 | 55.09 |
19 | Maine | 14 | 1.36 | 173.23 | 15.7 | 143 | 54.16 |
20 | Michigan | 26 | 1.60 | 193.19 | 13.7 | 125 | 53.46 |
21 | Oregon | 33 | 1.61 | 209.69 | 19 | 132 | 52.86 |
22 | Oklahoma | 36 | 1.84 | 216.91 | 9.4 | 137 | 51.76 |
23 | Iowa | 27 | 1.76 | 150.74 | 11 | 110 | 51.19 |
24 | Utah | 34 | 1.48 | 218.06 | 18 | 96 | 50.66 |
25 | Vermont | 18 | 1.33 | 166.4 | 16.5 | 130 | 50.31 |
26 | New Mexico | 32 | 1.72 | 173.62 | 12 | 95 | 50.10 |
27 | Pennsylvania | 31 | 1.56 | 204.66 | 15.2 | 143 | 49.57 |
28 | Kentucky | 25 | 1.57 | 183.31 | 10.5 | 142 | 49.34 |
29 | Colorado | 41 | 1.55 | 219.79 | 21.2 | 102 | 49.04 |
30 | Georgia | 22 | 1.30 | 194.98 | 16.3 | 157 | 48.16 |
31 | Louisiana | 28 | 1.48 | 203.11 | 8.2 | 150 | 44.66 |
32 | Missouri | 38 | 1.64 | 196.43 | 12.9 | 138 | 43.91 |
33 | South Carolina | 30 | 1.43 | 199.35 | 11.4 | 155 | 42.90 |
34 | Idaho | 29 | 1.59 | 124.57 | 13.1 | 110 | 42.60 |
35 | West Virginia | 16 | 1.23 | 164.85 | 9.1 | 163 | 42.24 |
36 | New Jersey | 39 | 1.35 | 235.67 | 16.7 | 136 | 41.96 |
37 | Kansas | 44 | 1.67 | 186.88 | 12.1 | 125 | 38.92 |
38 | Alabama | 35 | 1.56 | 191.88 | 8.9 | 185 | 38.53 |
39 | North Carolina | 42 | 1.46 | 197.61 | 16.5 | 144 | 37.71 |
40 | Delaware | 50 | 1.52 | 246.95 | 15.5 | 154 | 37.56 |
41 | Nebraska | 43 | 1.63 | 177.37 | 10.8 | 119 | 36.96 |
42 | Connecticut | 37 | 1.21 | 233.88 | 15.9 | 192 | 36.06 |
43 | Arkansas | 47 | 1.67 | 194.82 | 8.8 | 135 | 34.84 |
44 | California | 40 | 1.20 | 223.59 | 17.2 | 155 | 34.73 |
45 | Rhode Island | 45 | 1.36 | 227.1 | 13.4 | 163 | 33.00 |
46 | Mississippi | 46 | 1.72 | 187.07 | 5.5 | 162 | 32.62 |
47 | Massachusetts | 48 | 1.28 | 218.54 | 18.4 | 146 | 30.97 |
48 | New York | 49 | 1.15 | 208.05 | 14.5 | 150 | 22.45 |
Methodology: The study compared 48 states using five weighted metrics: ROAM taxation index (40%), remote salary-to-cost-of-living ratio (30%), average internet speed (15%), share of remote workers (10%) and average monthly electricity bill (5%).
Sources: National Taxpayers Union Foundation, HighSpeedInternet, U.S. Census Bureau and PowerOutage.
