nomading usa

All cities / Reports / US remote-work city report, Q4 2026

US remote-work city report, Q4 2026

20 findings across 14 US cities, computed from sourced data read in October 2026 and frozen on October 10, 2026. Nothing on this page changes after that date; the live statistics page moves with the data.

Cities covered: Austin, TX, Denver, CO, Chicago, IL, Las Vegas, NV, San Diego, CA, Miami, FL, Atlanta, GA, Chattanooga, TN, Asheville, NC, Tucson, AZ, Anaheim, CA, Riverside, CA, Nashville, TN, Portland, OR. Every finding below has its own link, so a quotation can point at exactly one sentence.

Cite as: Nomading USA, "US remote-work city report, Q4 2026", nomadingusa.com/reports/2026-q4/, October 10, 2026. Licensed CC BY 4.0.

Rent

  1. The cheapest 1-bedroom near downtown among the 14 cities is Tucson, AZ at $1,100 a month; the most expensive is Chicago at $2,670, 143% more. Source: HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents FY2027. Link to this finding.
  2. The average 1-bedroom rent near downtown across the 14 cities is $1,864 a month, utilities included; metro-wide it is $1,735. Source: HUD FY2027. Link to this finding.
  3. Living near downtown costs more than the metro-wide figure in 11 of the 14 cities; the biggest gap is Chicago at 50%. Source: HUD FY2027. Link to this finding.
  4. Current tenants pay a median 1-bedroom rent below the HUD figure in 11 of the 14 cities. Source: Census ACS vs HUD FY2027. Link to this finding.
  5. A 3-bedroom near downtown costs 1.3 to 1.8 times the 1-bedroom rent, never double, across the 14 cities. Source: HUD FY2027. Link to this finding.

Buying

  1. Typical home values range from $319,185 in Chattanooga to $985,158 in San Diego. Source: Zillow Home Value Index. Link to this finding.
  2. 6 of the 14 cities have a typical home value above $500,000. Source: Zillow Home Value Index. Link to this finding.

Getting around

  1. Portland has the most walkable downtown, 17.1 out of 20 on the EPA index; Riverside the least at 13.3. Source: EPA National Walkability Index. Link to this finding.
  2. Chicago has the highest share of households with no car, 27.4%; in Anaheim it is 5.1%. Source: Census ACS 2024 1-year. Link to this finding.
  3. Only 1 of the 14 cities has 20% or more car-free households, the threshold this site uses for "car optional". Source: Census ACS. Link to this finding.
  4. Portland has the best bike network, 55 out of 100; the average across the cities is 31. Source: PeopleForBikes City Ratings 2026. Link to this finding.
  5. Denver has the highest share of residents working from home, 27.3%. Source: Census ACS 2024 5-year. Link to this finding.
  6. A single transit ride ranges from free (Tucson) to $3.00 across the cities with a published fare. Source: Transit agency fare pages. Link to this finding.

Short stays

  1. The cheapest entire-home Airbnb night is $155 in Las Vegas and Tucson; the most expensive is $377 in Anaheim. Source: Inside Airbnb and labelled sources. Link to this finding.

Internet

  1. Austin, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Tucson and Portland all advertise the fastest home internet on the list, 8 Gbps; 12 of the 14 cities have a 5 Gbps or faster plan advertised. Source: FCC Broadband Data Collection via broadbandmap.com. Link to this finding.

Weather and air

  1. Miami has the mildest January nights, an average low of 61°F; Denver the coldest at 18°F. Source: NOAA Climate Normals 1991 to 2020. Link to this finding.
  2. Las Vegas has the hottest July, an average high of 104°F; San Diego the coolest at 75°F. Source: NOAA Climate Normals 1991 to 2020. Link to this finding.
  3. Portland had the most good-air days in 2025, 283 of 365; Riverside the fewest at 39. Source: EPA Air Quality Index report 2025. Link to this finding.

Breweries

  1. Denver has the most open breweries inside the city, 82; across the 14 cities there are 479. Source: Open Brewery DB. Link to this finding.
  2. Per resident, Asheville leads with 28.6 breweries per 100,000 people, against 1.5 in Las Vegas. Source: Open Brewery DB and Census ACS. Link to this finding.

Method

Rent is HUD Small Area Fair Market Rent for the ZIP codes within 2 miles of each downtown, utilities included; metro-wide figures are HUD's metro Fair Market Rent. Walkability is the EPA National Walkability Index within 2 miles of downtown. Car ownership and commuting are Census ACS. Airbnb figures mix Inside Airbnb medians and labelled market averages. Weather is NOAA 30-year normals, air is the EPA's annual AQI count, breweries are open entries on Open Brewery DB. The cities are the ones on Nomading USA at the freeze date, not a national sample. Full sources: sources and methods. Data: open download.