Best all-round cities for remote workers in New England
Key facts
- #1 Boston, MA: 88 / 100
- #2 Waltham, MA: 80 / 100
- #3 Cambridge, MA: 68 / 100
- 11 cities ranked in New England
- Data as of November 2026
- 1Boston MA88 / 100
- 2Waltham MA80 / 100
- 3Cambridge MA68 / 100
- 4Hartford CT66 / 100
- 5Somerville MA57 / 100
- 6Watertown MA55 / 100
- 7Burlington MA52 / 100
- 8Lexington MA35 / 100
- 9Stamford CT30 / 100
- 10Quincy MA12 / 100
What stands out
- The lead is wide: Boston (88 / 100) is well clear of Quincy at #10 (12 / 100).
- Watertown reaches #6 on a sample of 146 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- Boston is the largest market in the top ten, with 5,338 openings behind its figure.
- Cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
Why this ranking matters
What it shows
Remote work is attached to a city by the employer's base. This list weighs how many openings are remote, how many there are and what the pay is worth locally, to show which cities hire remotely in volume.
How to use it
If you want a remote role, the top cities show where the employers are. You can live elsewhere and still apply to them as a remote candidate.
The top 25
- 1
Boston MA
88 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 10%
- Pay after cost of living
- $157k
- Remote openings
- 540
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Confidential, Takeda Development Center Americas
Based on 5,338 openings.
- 2
Waltham MA
80 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $182k
- Remote openings
- 31
Hiring most here: Boston Dynamics, Anduril Industries, Xometry
Based on 634 openings.
- 3
Cambridge MA
68 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $187k
- Remote openings
- 26
Hiring most here: Harvard University, Biogen, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Based on 1,204 openings.
- 4
Hartford CT
66 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 9%
- Pay after cost of living
- $130k
- Remote openings
- 33
Hiring most here: CVS HEALTH, Hartford HealthCare, Eversource Energy
Based on 366 openings.
- 5
Somerville MA
57 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $155k
- Remote openings
- 12
Hiring most here: Formlabs, Tulip Interfaces, Generate Biomedicines
Based on 354 openings.
- 6
Watertown MA
55 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $193k
- Remote openings
- 3
Hiring most here: Tutor Intelligence, Kymera Therapeutics, Treeline Biosciences
Based on 146 openings.
- 7
Burlington MA
52 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $140k
- Remote openings
- 9
Hiring most here: Veracode, Vericel, Tufts Medicine Care AT Home
Based on 227 openings.
- 8
Lexington MA
35 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 1%
- Pay after cost of living
- $162k
- Remote openings
- 2
Hiring most here: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Lincoln Lab), Takeda Development Center Americas, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International
Based on 253 openings.
- 9
Stamford CT
30 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $140k
- Remote openings
- 6
Hiring most here: Philip Morris International, Gartner, Charter Communications
Based on 336 openings.
- 10
Quincy MA
12 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 0%
- Pay after cost of living
- $152k
- Remote openings
- 0
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Anduril, J.Jill
Based on 169 openings.
Full ranking
All 11 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
How this ranking works
A city's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked cities (100 is first, 0 is last): remote share of openings 40%, pay after cost of living 30%, remote openings 30%.
A score of 100 would mean first on every measure and 50 is the middle of the pack. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here; they are a judgment about what matters to this reader, so use the single-measure rankings when one thing matters most.
Only cities with enough openings and pay data are ranked.
A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
Sample bar: cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked.
Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles and posted pay; Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024. Data as of November 2026.
Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.
Questions
- Which city ranks first: best all-round cities for remote workers in new england?
- Boston is the best all-round city for remote workers in New England, with a score of 88 / 100.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 11 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 11 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- A city's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked cities (100 is first, 0 is last): remote share of openings 40%, pay after cost of living 30%, remote openings 30%. A score of 100 would mean first on every measure and 50 is the middle of the pack. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here; they are a judgment about what matters to this reader, so use the single-measure rankings when one thing matters most. Only cities with enough openings and pay data are ranked. A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
- How often is it updated?
- Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.
More rankings
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- Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in New England
- Best all-round cities for remote workers
- All rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Best all-round cities for remote workers in New England,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-new-england
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-new-england">Best all-round cities for remote workers in New England (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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