NextChapter

Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Great Lakes

Eden Prairie is the best all-round city for remote workers in the Great Lakes, with a score of 95 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

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Key facts

  • #1 Eden Prairie, MN: 95 / 100
  • #2 Chicago, IL: 84 / 100
  • #3 Ann Arbor, MI: 83 / 100
  • 14 cities ranked in the Great Lakes
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Eden Prairie MN95 / 100
  2. 2Chicago IL84 / 100
  3. 3Ann Arbor MI83 / 100
  4. 4Minneapolis MN73 / 100
  5. 5Columbus OH62 / 100
  6. 6Milwaukee WI60 / 100
  7. 7Indianapolis IN57 / 100
  8. 8Detroit MI48 / 100
  9. 9Schaumburg IL33 / 100
  10. 10Cincinnati OH26 / 100

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Eden Prairie (95 / 100) is well clear of Cincinnati at #10 (26 / 100).
  • Schaumburg reaches #9 on a sample of 218 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Chicago is the largest market in the top ten, with 7,607 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. 1

    Eden Prairie MN

    95 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    43%
    Pay after cost of living
    $137k
    Remote openings
    137

    Hiring most here: Unitedhealth Group, LHC Group, Illinois Tool Works

    Based on 321 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Eden Prairie

  2. 2

    Chicago IL

    84 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    7%
    Pay after cost of living
    $130k
    Remote openings
    517

    Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential

    Based on 7,607 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Chicago

  3. 3

    Ann Arbor MI

    83 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    13%
    Pay after cost of living
    $157k
    Remote openings
    46

    Hiring most here: May Mobility, Torc Robotics, Thomson Reuters

    Based on 350 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Ann Arbor

  4. 4

    Minneapolis MN

    73 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    7%
    Pay after cost of living
    $121k
    Remote openings
    95

    Hiring most here: Mortenson, Target ALS Foundation, Ameriprise Certificate

    Based on 1,276 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Minneapolis

  5. 5

    Columbus OH

    62 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    6%
    Pay after cost of living
    $115k
    Remote openings
    111

    Hiring most here: State of Ohio, Nationwide, Ohio State University-Newark Campus

    Based on 1,892 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Columbus

  6. 6

    Milwaukee WI

    60 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    7%
    Pay after cost of living
    $121k
    Remote openings
    54

    Hiring most here: Michels, Rockwell Automation, Johnson Controls International

    Based on 827 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Milwaukee

  7. 7

    Indianapolis IN

    57 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    4%
    Pay after cost of living
    $129k
    Remote openings
    63

    Hiring most here: Eli Lilly and Company, State of Indiana, Masco

    Based on 1,422 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Indianapolis

  8. 8

    Detroit MI

    48 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    5%
    Pay after cost of living
    $125k
    Remote openings
    38

    Hiring most here: Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System, Accident Fund

    Based on 734 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Detroit

  9. 9

    Schaumburg IL

    33 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    6%
    Pay after cost of living
    $104k
    Remote openings
    12

    Hiring most here: Motorola Solutions, Fictiv, Zurich

    Based on 218 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Schaumburg

  10. 10

    Cincinnati OH

    26 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    3%
    Pay after cost of living
    $107k
    Remote openings
    43

    Hiring most here: Medpace Holdings, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, Procter & Gamble

    Based on 1,379 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Cincinnati

  11. 11

    Mundelein IL

    25 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    1%
    Pay after cost of living
    $136k
    Remote openings
    3

    Hiring most here: Coda Search│Staffing

    Based on 247 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Mundelein

  12. 12

    St. Paul MN

    22 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    4%
    Pay after cost of living
    $104k
    Remote openings
    7

    Hiring most here: George Konik Associates, Mortenson, Old National Bank

    Based on 194 openings.

    Jobs and employers in St. Paul

  13. 13

    Springfield IL

    16 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    4%
    Pay after cost of living
    $103k
    Remote openings
    10

    Hiring most here: State of Illinois, Army National Guard Units, Hshs Medical Group

    Based on 283 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Springfield

  14. 14

    Cleveland OH

    15 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    3%
    Pay after cost of living
    $102k
    Remote openings
    29

    Hiring most here: Flexjet, Sherwin Williams, KeyBank

    Based on 891 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Cleveland

Full ranking

All 14 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Eden Prairie MN95 / 100321
2Chicago IL84 / 1007,607
3Ann Arbor MI83 / 100350
4Minneapolis MN73 / 1001,276
5Columbus OH62 / 1001,892
6Milwaukee WI60 / 100827
7Indianapolis IN57 / 1001,422
8Detroit MI48 / 100734
9Schaumburg IL33 / 100218
10Cincinnati OH26 / 1001,379
11Mundelein IL25 / 100247
12St. Paul MN22 / 100194
13Springfield IL16 / 100283
14Cleveland OH15 / 100891

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 the great lakes?
Eden Prairie is the best all-round city for remote workers in the Great Lakes, with a score of 95 / 100.
How many cities are ranked?
14 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 14 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

Cite this ranking

NextChapter, “Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Great Lakes,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-great-lakes

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-great-lakes">Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Great Lakes (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.

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