Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Mid-Atlantic

Question 1
Where are you right now?
Why we ask: a laid-off week and a thinking-about-a-move week look nothing alike. No résumé, no account.
Key facts
- #1 Reston, VA: 93 / 100
- #2 Washington, DC: 91 / 100
- #3 New York, NY: 87 / 100
- 32 cities ranked in the Mid-Atlantic
- Data as of November 2026
- 1Reston VA93 / 100
- 2Washington DC91 / 100
- 3New York NY87 / 100
- 4McLean VA79 / 100
- 5Philadelphia PA77 / 100
- 6Brooklyn NY73 / 100
- 7Chantilly VA70 / 100
- 8Rockville MD66 / 100
- 9Arlington VA65 / 100
- 10Alexandria VA65 / 100
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: Reston leads on 93 / 100, and #10 Alexandria is at 65 / 100.
- Rockville reaches #8 on a sample of 355 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 20,589 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
Reston VA
93 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 12%
- Pay after cost of living
- $157k
- Remote openings
- 97
Hiring most here: ICF International, CACI International, Anduril Industries
Based on 783 openings.
- 2
Washington DC
91 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 7%
- Pay after cost of living
- $147k
- Remote openings
- 313
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, CACI International, Shield AI
Based on 4,457 openings.
- 3
New York NY
87 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 6%
- Pay after cost of living
- $147k
- Remote openings
- 1,145
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 20,589 openings.
- 4
McLean VA
79 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $148k
- Remote openings
- 59
Hiring most here: Capital One, The MITRE, Steampunk
Based on 1,155 openings.
- 5
Philadelphia PA
77 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 6%
- Pay after cost of living
- $127k
- Remote openings
- 116
Hiring most here: Confidential, GSK, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Based on 1,820 openings.
- 6
Brooklyn NY
73 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 7%
- Pay after cost of living
- $126k
- Remote openings
- 49
Hiring most here: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Williams-Sonoma, Altana AI
Based on 680 openings.
- 7
Chantilly VA
70 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $192k
- Remote openings
- 24
Hiring most here: CACI International, Trinzic, Peraton
Based on 555 openings.
- 8
Rockville MD
66 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $142k
- Remote openings
- 19
Hiring most here: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, The Emmes Company, BAE Systems
Based on 355 openings.
- 9
Arlington VA
65 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $143k
- Remote openings
- 80
Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group
Based on 1,989 openings.
- 10
Alexandria VA
65 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $139k
- Remote openings
- 29
Hiring most here: Kearney, Patent and Trademark Office, Analytic Services (ANSER)
Based on 584 openings.
- 12
Pittsburgh PA
61 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $121k
- Remote openings
- 77
Hiring most here: PNC Financial Services Group, Highmark Health, UPMC
Based on 1,514 openings.
- 13
Bethesda MD
58 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $136k
- Remote openings
- 20
Hiring most here: Black Canyon Consulting, ZoomInfo, Leidos
Based on 443 openings.
- 14
White Plains NY
57 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 6%
- Pay after cost of living
- $121k
- Remote openings
- 14
Hiring most here: New York Power Authority, FormativGroup, RWE Clean Energy
Based on 222 openings.
- 15
Richmond VA
54 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $99k
- Remote openings
- 58
Hiring most here: Mckesson, Capital One, Genworth Financial
Based on 1,136 openings.
- 16
Albany NY
50 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $95k
- Remote openings
- 20
Hiring most here: KPMG, New York State, Broadview Credit Union
Based on 366 openings.
- 17
Jersey City NJ
50 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $144k
- Remote openings
- 16
Hiring most here: DTCC, Verisk Analytics, JPMorgan Chase
Based on 618 openings.
- 18
Baltimore MD
48 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $118k
- Remote openings
- 45
Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
Based on 1,066 openings.
- 19
Princeton NJ
47 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $163k
- Remote openings
- 8
Hiring most here: Genmab A/S, Otsuka, ZS Associates
Based on 396 openings.
- 20
Buffalo NY
42 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $100k
- Remote openings
- 19
Hiring most here: Moog Military Aircraft, University at Buffalo, Moog
Based on 416 openings.
- 21
Norfolk VA
35 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $103k
- Remote openings
- 14
Hiring most here: Commonwealth of Virginia, Seacorp, United States Fleet Forces Command
Based on 332 openings.
- 22
Mc Lean VA
33 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 1%
- Pay after cost of living
- $161k
- Remote openings
- 2
Hiring most here: Capital One, Booz Allen Hamilton, Sunrise Senior Living
Based on 234 openings.
- 23
Syracuse NY
32 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $109k
- Remote openings
- 13
Hiring most here: Upstate Medical University, Hidden Level, HII Mission Technologies
Based on 400 openings.
- 24
Newark NJ
30 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $119k
- Remote openings
- 10
Hiring most here: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Amazon, Audible
Based on 426 openings.
- 25
Tysons VA
28 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $125k
- Remote openings
- 4
Hiring most here: M.C. Dean, Alarm.com Holdings, LMI
Based on 190 openings.
Full ranking
All 32 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reston VA | 93 / 100 | 783 |
| 2 | Washington DC | 91 / 100 | 4,457 |
| 3 | New York NY | 87 / 100 | 20,589 |
| 4 | McLean VA | 79 / 100 | 1,155 |
| 5 | Philadelphia PA | 77 / 100 | 1,820 |
| 6 | Brooklyn NY | 73 / 100 | 680 |
| 7 | Chantilly VA | 70 / 100 | 555 |
| 8 | Rockville MD | 66 / 100 | 355 |
| 9 | Arlington VA | 65 / 100 | 1,989 |
| 10 | Alexandria VA | 65 / 100 | 584 |
| 11 | Herndon VA | 62 / 100 | 821 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh PA | 61 / 100 | 1,514 |
| 13 | Bethesda MD | 58 / 100 | 443 |
| 14 | White Plains NY | 57 / 100 | 222 |
| 15 | Richmond VA | 54 / 100 | 1,136 |
| 16 | Albany NY | 50 / 100 | 366 |
| 17 | Jersey City NJ | 50 / 100 | 618 |
| 18 | Baltimore MD | 48 / 100 | 1,066 |
| 19 | Princeton NJ | 47 / 100 | 396 |
| 20 | Buffalo NY | 42 / 100 | 416 |
| 21 | Norfolk VA | 35 / 100 | 332 |
| 22 | Mc Lean VA | 33 / 100 | 234 |
| 23 | Syracuse NY | 32 / 100 | 400 |
| 24 | Newark NJ | 30 / 100 | 426 |
| 25 | Tysons VA | 28 / 100 | 190 |
| 26 | Fort Belvoir VA | 26 / 100 | 197 |
| 27 | Manassas VA | 26 / 100 | 231 |
| 28 | Annapolis MD | 21 / 100 | 377 |
| 29 | Vienna VA | 21 / 100 | 163 |
| 30 | Fort Meade MD | 20 / 100 | 276 |
| 31 | Rochester NY | 18 / 100 | 518 |
| 32 | Springfield VA | 15 / 100 | 274 |
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 mid-atlantic?
- Reston is the best all-round city for remote workers in the Mid-Atlantic, with a score of 93 / 100.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 32 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 32 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
- Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Mid-Atlantic
- Best college towns for junior jobs in the Mid-Atlantic
- Counties with the lowest unemployment in the Mid-Atlantic
- Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Mid-Atlantic
- Counties with the highest share of white-collar workers in the Mid-Atlantic
- Counties with the most jobs in AI-exposed sectors in the Mid-Atlantic
- Best all-round cities for remote workers
- All rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Mid-Atlantic,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-mid-atlantic
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-mid-atlantic">Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Mid-Atlantic (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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