If you’re fortunate enough to work from home, it’s the little things to be thankful for — no rush-hour commute, a new skill in getting the house to look just right for those Zoom meeting backgrounds, and no more wearing long pants.
Now, here’s more positive news about working from home: Texas has the highest number of work-from-home-friendly counties in the country, according to a recent National Association of Realtors study.
Collin County is fourth, Denton County 13th, and Rockwall County 15th on the 30-county list, which includes seven Texas counties.
Georgia’s Forsyth County, which is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metropolitan area, was determined to be the most work-from-home-friendly county.
To determine the rankings, NAR considered nine factors related to internet connectivity, urbanization, office-related jobs, home affordability, and population growth. Using these factors, NAR developed a Work From Home Score for 3,142 counties.
Forsyth County emerged as No. 1 with a 1.9 score. Collin County had a 1.6 score. In the always-interesting Dallas-vs.-Tarrant heavyweight battle, Tarrant won with a 0.8 score. Dallas had a 0.6.
In breaking down Collin County:
- 11.3 percent of its workers worked from home.
- 99 percent of its population has three or more broadband ISPs.
- 91.4 percent of households have broadband.
- 91.3 percent of households have a desktop or laptop.
- 36.1 percent of civilian workers in office-intensive industries.
- 94.8 percent of housing units in an urban area.
- 17 percent change in population from 2014-2019.
- 3.1 percent home-price-to-income ratio.
- 23 percent of homeowners with a mortgage who spend at least 30 percent of income on housing.
