America’s New Remote Workers Are Moving—Here’s Where

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Remember the good old days of early COVID? I’m pretty sure I had a relative tell me in April 2020 that we were 10 days out from solving the coronavirus problem. That same relative is, indeed, still pretending to this day we never had that conversation.

Alas, I digress!

This is an article for people who want to rent their properties to remote workers, and this is an article about where those remote workers moved between April and October in the wake of the pandemic.

Why Real Estate Investors Should Care About Remote Workers

But first, here’s why I have been putting out a ton of content around remote workers and where they are likely to land:

1. NPR is reporting 14–23 million people will be moving because they are no longer tethered to their jobs.
2. I think this is a very important tenant pool that can help you transition out of Airbnb (because your city’s laws changed or because you are tired of doing Airbnb) without having to sell the furniture.
3. I personally have seen a lot of success with this model in Denver and Colorado Springs, because that’s where I work as a real estate agent and landlord with people looking to rent by the room, sublet, medium-term rent, house hack, etc.
4. And finally, I believe that certain places are likely to be much more attractive to remote workers because they are cool places to live/vacation/wait out COVID. (That’s right! I’m talking about you, Colorado.)

Related: Remote Workers Are Relocating—Here’s How to Attract Them as Tenants

OK, Erin, we get it. You’re passionate about Colorado. But where are the facts? How can you back this up?

Where Are People Moving Amid COVID-19?

Good news: Bloomberg backed this up for me, reporting the following cities are seeing the highest influx of people from April 2020 to October 2020:

1. Austin
2. Phoenix
3. Nashville
4. Tampa
5. Jacksonville
6. Charlotte
7. Dallas
8. Denver(!)
9. Charleston
10. Seattle

Related: Top 5 Features Remote Workers Look for in Rentals

And WalletHub reports that the best states for working from home are:

1. Delaware
2. Washington
3. New Hampshire
4. Colorado(!)
5. Georgia

Did you notice which location showed up on both of those lists? Colorado!

The Bottom Line

Some major factors for remote workers leaving their location and moving to yours are cost of living and also lower tax rates. I think there is a little more to this, though. We know the cost of living in both Seattle and Denver is fairly high, so surely quality of life factors in there, as well. Places people are leaving are places that are just becoming way too expensive for your average person to live (ahem—New York and San Fran).

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Rental Property Ready During COVID-19

Since you may be wondering if this is temporary, rest assured. Per a survey of executives by EisnerAmper:

1. 60% of respondents will let staff continue to work from home, and
2. 55% are more likely to hire out-of-state employees.

What that means to me is that this trend is not only here to stay but also growing. In the next one to five years, a lot of people will want to experience different parts of the U.S. for months at a time before deciding where to live now that they can live anywhere. And you, as a real estate investor, can make a lot of money by being the property that caters to this crowd by getting in front of them with your 30+ day, furnished rental.

Questions? Comments?

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Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.