While no longer topping the list of Best States for Working from Home as it did in 2022, New Jersey still ranked No. 5 on WalletHub‘s most recent assessment, released April 10. 

According to the personal finance company, 12.7% of full-time employees across the U.S. are now working entirely from home and 28.2% have a hybrid schedule. 

To find which states are most conducive to work-from-home environments in terms of cost, comfort and safety, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics, including internet cost, cybersecurity, how large and how crowded homes are in each state, and more. 

Here is how the Garden State ranked across some of these metrics (1 = best, 25 = average): 

• 4th – Households’ internet access 
• 11th – Share of potential telecommuters 
• 18th – Internet cost 
• 21st – Share of population working from home 
• 21st – Average home square footage 
• 26th – Cybersecurity 

Topping the list ahead of New Jersey this year were: No. 1 Delaware, No. 2 Utah, No. 3 Maryland and No. 4 Connecticut. The states where you’ll probably want to work from the office are: No. 47 Mississippi, No. 48 Arkansas, No. 49 Montana, No. 50 North Dakota and No. 51 Alaska. 

Ask the experts 

WalletHub also asked a few experts to weigh in on the pandemic-spurred work-from-home movement as well as what the future holds for the work environment.

In the report, Joseph Karl Grant, visiting professor of law, Howard University School of Law, and professor of law, College of Law – Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, said the pandemic has “redefined the way American workers function from home and in the workplace.” 

“As American workers emerge from the anxiety, disruptions, and displacements of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the outlook for continuing and expanding opportunities to work from home looks firm in 2023 and beyond.” 

He added, “Recently, I have been paying close attention to the commercial real estate market and leasing and occupancy rates, all the data that I have seen thus far demonstrate that millions of square feet of commercial real estate remain unoccupied.” 

In fact, according to a recent report from Cushman & Wakefield, New Jersey recorded an increase in office vacancies for the third consecutive quarter, up to 21.2%.

When asked the pros and cons of working from home, Grant said the positives include employees’ lower stress and more focus, a better life-balance and the savings incurred from a lack of daily commute. The drawbacks of a home office, however, include social isolation, a more challenging communication setting and a more difficult environment to build a company culture. 

Alyssa McGonagle – associate professor of psychological science and organizational science; affiliate faculty, public health science; and associate editor, occupational health science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte – said work-from-home policies and effective management of employees working from home should continue to be a priority for businesses in 2023 and beyond. 

McGonagle cited research findings for how companies can create the most successful work-from-home setups for their employees: 

• Convey trust in and support for their employees working from home. Since many employees work longer hours and with fewer breaks when working at home compared with in the office, supervisors should encourage employees to have healthy work boundaries and take breaks when needed.  
• Companies should provide proper equipment to create a productive at-home work environment, such as dual monitors, a proper desk, a comfortable chair, and up-to-date technology. 
• Work to mitigate potential social isolation, including scheduling remote social activities, coffee breaks and lunches. 

Joseph Broschak, associate professor of management and organizations and affiliated faculty at the School of Sociology – University of Arizona, Eller College Management, said, “Working from home may not be suitable for every job or every worker” such as many service, retail and manufacturing positions. 

However, Broschak said because the “experiment” to work from home “proved successful” during the pandemic, “[t]rying to un-ring that bell and bring employees back into offices on an ongoing basis because that was the pre-pandemic model may be frustratingly difficult as many employees have gotten a taste of remote work as a viable work arrangement.” 

Broschak added, “I also expect we will see tremendous variation across employers in the structure of these work arrangements from completely working from home to hybrid arrangements where 1-2 days are spent in the office with the rest of the week working from home, to compressed work schedules, such as the 4-day work week.”