Remote working has become a permanent part of the working lives of millions of people in England. Temporary shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic have turned into long-term changes in how and where people work. For many employees, working from home now offers greater flexibility, lower commuting costs, and the freedom to move away from traditional employment centers.

However, not all cities are equally suited to remote work. Factors such as broadband speed, cost of living and overall quality of life can have a significant impact on the experience of working from home. Some cities offer fast internet and affordable living, while others offer better work-life balance and higher levels of life satisfaction.

To find out which locations offer the best environment for remote workers, this Odds Monkey The study compared 19 cities in England representing different parts of the country. Cities were evaluated across several key metrics, including broadband speeds, cost of living, life satisfaction scores and the proportion of residents who primarily work from home.

Full data set: The best UK cities for remote workers

The best cities in the UK for remote working

Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes was named the best UK city for remote workers, performing strongly on several key indicators used in this study. The city had the third-highest broadband speed among the 19 cities analyzed at 582.4 Mbps, providing remote workers with the fast and reliable internet connections they rely on for video calls, cloud services and everyday online collaboration.

The city also performs well in terms of overall quality of life. Milton Keynes had a life satisfaction score of 7.5, ranking fourth in the study, indicating residents maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life. While the cost of living ranks eighth, it remains relatively competitive compared to larger urban centers, making the city an attractive option for professionals looking for affordability without sacrificing connectivity or amenities.

Milton Keynes is also creating a positive environment for modern working practices. According to the Center for Cities, London will be the UK’s fastest growing city for housing by 2026, ranking in the top 10 nationally for innovation, employment, population growth, business stock and GVA per hour. Complementing this growth is an increase in coworking-style and laptop-friendly venues downtown, including cafes, hotel lobbies and flexible workspaces that actively cater to the needs of remote professionals.

coventry

Coventry was named the second best city in the UK for remote workers, largely due to its excellent digital infrastructure and affordability. The city has the fastest broadband speeds of the 19 cities analyzed, averaging 698.2 Mbps.

Affordability is another key advantage. Coventry ranks second for the cost of living, with a score of 63.9, meaning residents can enjoy lower daily expenses compared to many other UK cities. While its life satisfaction score of 7.3 puts it in a tie for 10th place, the combination of strong connectivity and relatively affordable cost of living make the city an attractive choice for those looking to maximize productivity and financial flexibility while working remotely.

Coventry’s impressive performance is also aided by its rapidly developing digital infrastructure. The city has one of the most advanced broadband networks in the UK, with full fiber coverage expected to be close to around 99.9%. Continued investment in connectivity helps ensure Coventry’s remote workers benefit from reliable, future-proof internet access across much of the city.

brighton

With reliable internet connections and a large number of residents working from home, Brighton was named the third best city in the UK for remote workers. The city had the second-highest broadband speeds among the 19 cities analyzed, with an average speed of 628 Mbps, ensuring remote professionals have access to basic utilities.

Brighton also stands out for its established remote working culture. About 42.7% of residents primarily work from home, the fourth-highest proportion in the study, indicating that flexible work arrangements are already widely adopted in the city. This helps create a supportive environment for remote professionals, allowing more businesses, cafes and coworking spaces to adapt to flexible working models.

In addition, Brighton’s life satisfaction score was 7.4, ranking eighth overall, indicating that residents enjoy a high quality of life. While the cost of living was ranked 16th, making it one of the more expensive cities in the study, the city’s strong digital infrastructure, established remote working culture and lifestyle appeal help maintain its position as one of the best places in England for remote workers.

methodology

This study aims to identify the best UK cities for remote workers by analyzing several factors that influence the quality of remote working and overall lifestyle. The data used for the analysis was drawn from a range of reliable public datasets and industry sources.

data collection

Four indicators were chosen to represent key aspects affecting remote workers:

• broadband speed
• cost of living index
• life satisfaction score
• Proportion of residents who primarily work from home
  

Broadband speed data is collected from BroadbandSpeedTest.uk, which provides information on average internet speeds in UK cities.

Cost of living data comes from Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index, which compares the relative affordability of cities based on daily expenses.

Life satisfaction scores are taken from “Personal Well-being in the UK: April 2022 to March 2023” published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This dataset measures residents’ overall life satisfaction.

Figures for the proportion of people who mainly work from home come from the Office for National Statistics Census dataset, which records working patterns across the UK.

These indicators were chosen because they reflect important elements of remote work life, including internet infrastructure, affordability, well-being, and the prevalence of remote work culture.

Data normalization

Since each indicator is measured using different units and scales, the data was standardized to allow for meaningful comparisons across cities.

Each factor is converted into a score out of 10, where:

• 10 represents the best performing cities
• 0 represents the worst performing city
  

For positive indicators such as broadband speeds, life satisfaction and the proportion of people working from home, the higher the number, the better the score.

For the cost of living index, lower values ​​correspond to higher scores because lower costs of living are more beneficial to remote workers.

Comprehensive score calculation

After normalization, each city is scored 10 points for each of the four indicators.

Each city’s overall score is calculated by taking the average of the four normalized scores to arrive at a final composite score out of 10.

This ensures that each factor contributes equally to the final assessment.

ranking

Cities are then ranked from highest to lowest based on their overall score.

Cities with higher scores based on selected metrics are considered more favorable to remote workers.