NextChapter

Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Northeast

Boston is the best all-round city for remote workers in the Northeast, with a score of 92 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

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Key facts

  • #1 Boston, MA: 92 / 100
  • #2 New York, NY: 79 / 100
  • #3 Hartford, CT: 74 / 100
  • 19 cities ranked in the Northeast
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Boston MA92 / 100
  2. 2New York NY79 / 100
  3. 3Hartford CT74 / 100
  4. 4Philadelphia PA73 / 100
  5. 5Waltham MA73 / 100
  6. 6Brooklyn NY71 / 100
  7. 7Cambridge MA59 / 100
  8. 8Pittsburgh PA56 / 100
  9. 9White Plains NY53 / 100
  10. 10Albany NY45 / 100

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Boston (92 / 100) is well clear of Albany at #10 (45 / 100).
  • White Plains reaches #9 on a sample of 222 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. 1

    Boston MA

    92 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    11%
    Pay after cost of living
    $157k
    Remote openings
    541

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 5,143 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Boston

  2. 2

    New York NY

    79 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in New York

  3. 3

    Hartford CT

    74 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    9%
    Pay after cost of living
    $128k
    Remote openings
    31

    Hiring most here: CVS HEALTH, Hartford HealthCare, Eversource Energy

    Based on 350 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Hartford

  4. 4

    Philadelphia PA

    73 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Philadelphia

  5. 5

    Waltham MA

    73 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    5%
    Pay after cost of living
    $183k
    Remote openings
    30

    Hiring most here: Boston Dynamics, Anduril Industries, Xometry

    Based on 583 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Waltham

  6. 6

    Brooklyn NY

    71 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Brooklyn

  7. 7

    Cambridge MA

    59 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    2%
    Pay after cost of living
    $187k
    Remote openings
    27

    Hiring most here: Harvard University, Biogen, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

    Based on 1,141 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Cambridge

  8. 8

    Pittsburgh PA

    56 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Pittsburgh

  9. 9

    White Plains NY

    53 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in White Plains

  10. 10

    Albany NY

    45 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Albany

  11. 11

    Jersey City NJ

    45 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Jersey City

  12. 12

    Somerville MA

    43 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    4%
    Pay after cost of living
    $137k
    Remote openings
    12

    Hiring most here: Formlabs, Tulip Interfaces, Generate Biomedicines

    Based on 295 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Somerville

  13. 13

    Buffalo NY

    38 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Buffalo

  14. 14

    Princeton NJ

    37 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Princeton

  15. 15

    Syracuse NY

    31 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Syracuse

  16. 16

    Lexington MA

    29 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    1%
    Pay after cost of living
    $161k
    Remote openings
    3

    Hiring most here: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Lincoln Lab), Takeda Development Center Americas, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

    Based on 255 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Lexington

  17. 17

    Newark NJ

    22 / 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.

    Jobs and employers in Newark

  18. 18

    Quincy MA

    22 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    0%
    Pay after cost of living
    $157k
    Remote openings
    0

    Hiring most here: State Street, Anduril Industries, Anduril

    Based on 258 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Quincy

  19. 19

    Rochester NY

    9 / 100

    Remote share of openings
    2%
    Pay after cost of living
    $92k
    Remote openings
    9

    Hiring most here: L3HARRIS Technologies, Harris Health Strategic Fund, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Based on 518 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Rochester

Full ranking

All 19 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Boston MA92 / 1005,143
2New York NY79 / 10020,589
3Hartford CT74 / 100350
4Philadelphia PA73 / 1001,820
5Waltham MA73 / 100583
6Brooklyn NY71 / 100680
7Cambridge MA59 / 1001,141
8Pittsburgh PA56 / 1001,514
9White Plains NY53 / 100222
10Albany NY45 / 100366
11Jersey City NJ45 / 100618
12Somerville MA43 / 100295
13Buffalo NY38 / 100416
14Princeton NJ37 / 100396
15Syracuse NY31 / 100400
16Lexington MA29 / 100255
17Newark NJ22 / 100426
18Quincy MA22 / 100258
19Rochester NY9 / 100518

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 northeast?
Boston is the best all-round city for remote workers in the Northeast, with a score of 92 / 100.
How many cities are ranked?
19 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 19 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 Northeast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-northeast

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

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

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