Which City Is the Best for Coworking?
With remote work becoming a permanent and often indispensable option for employees, coworking spaces have become essential hubs for productivity, networking, and innovation. But which cities offer the best environments for coworking? Our in-depth analysis evaluates cities worldwide using three critical data points: Google reviews of coworking spaces, average internet speed, and cost of living. Here’s what we found.
Methodology
To ensure a robust and accurate analysis, we followed a detailed and systematic approach to evaluate the best cities for coworking spaces. Here’s how we conducted our study:
- City Selection: We started by compiling a list of 100 cities known for their coworking environments. This initial list was based on various sources and criteria that identified these cities as popular or highly regarded for coworking.
- Google Reviews: For each city, we scraped Google reviews from up to 100 coworking spaces. To ensure data reliability, we averaged the scores of coworking spaces, excluding any profiles with fewer than 15 reviews. This exclusion helped avoid skewed data from profiles with a minimal number of high ratings, which could distort the overall assessment.
- Internet Speed Data: We obtained average internet speed data from three reliable sources: Speedtest.net, Testmy.net, and Broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk. These platforms provide user-reported data, ensuring a comprehensive and realistic measure of internet speeds in each city.
- Cost of Living: We used Numbeo.com to gather data on the estimated costs of a single person living in each city. This index provides a combined measure of living expenses, offering a practical perspective on the financial demands faced by remote workers in each location.
By integrating these data points, we calculated normalized scores for each city, enabling us to rank them based on their suitability for coworking. This approach ensures that our findings are grounded in objective, relevant, and up-to-date information, providing valuable insights for remote workers seeking the best coworking environments globally.
Best USA Cities for Coworking Spaces
The United States hosts a variety of top-tier coworking spaces, each offering unique benefits. From tech hubs to cultural centers, these cities provide the infrastructure and community support that remote workers need to succeed. Here are the standout US cities for coworking spaces based on our analysis.
Best Global Cities for Coworking Spaces
Outside the United States, several global cities offer exceptional coworking environments. These cities combine high-quality coworking spaces, robust internet speeds, and affordable living costs, making them ideal for remote workers worldwide.
Best Cities for Specific Industries
Certain cities naturally lend themselves to specific industries, providing specialized environments that cater to the unique needs of professionals in these fields. By examining our data, we’ve identified the best cities for tech, finance, and creative professionals.
- Tech Industry: Raleigh, North Carolina and Austin, Texas are ideal for tech professionals, offering robust internet speeds and a supportive startup ecosystem. Raleigh’s tech industry benefits from the Research Triangle Park, while Austin’s vibrant tech scene is supported by numerous tech companies and startups.
- Finance: New York City provides unparalleled opportunities for finance professionals with its extensive networks and business resources. Despite its high cost of living, the city’s financial sector is unmatched, making it a key destination for finance professionals.
- Creative Industries: Los Angeles, California and Berlin, Germany are perfect for those in creative fields. Los Angeles offers a dynamic cultural scene with numerous coworking options tailored to creative professionals, while Berlin is known for its vibrant arts community and affordable coworking spaces.
Government Initiatives and Support
Cities that support remote work and startups with government initiatives and incentives can greatly enhance the coworking experience. These programs can offer financial assistance, tax benefits, and other forms of support that make a city even more attractive for remote workers.
- Raleigh, North Carolina: Raleigh benefits from North Carolina’s various grants and incentives for startups, particularly in the tech sector. The Research Triangle Park provides a hub for innovation and collaboration.
- Singapore: Offers various grants and tax incentives for startups, making it an attractive destination for entrepreneurs. High internet speeds and well-rated coworking spaces further enhance its appeal.
- Dublin, Ireland: Known for its friendly business environment and low corporate tax rates, Dublin attracts numerous tech companies and startups. The city also has strong internet connectivity and well-rated coworking spaces.
- Vancouver, Canada: Provides grants and support programs for startups and tech companies, along with excellent coworking spaces and robust internet speeds.
Conclusion
Our analysis reveals that while US cities like Fort Worth and Raleigh offer top-notch coworking spaces with high-speed internet, they often come with higher living costs. In contrast, cities in Brazil and Europe provide a compelling mix of affordability, quality coworking environments, and satisfactory internet speeds.
Whether you’re looking for a vibrant and affordable coworking space in São Paulo, or a tech-savvy environment in Raleigh, there’s a perfect city for every remote worker’s needs. This study highlights the growing global landscape of coworking spaces, offering diverse options for professionals worldwide.