Study Reveals The Best English Cities for Remote Workers

Remote working has become a permanent part of working life for millions of people across England. What began as a temporary shift during the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into a long-term change in how and where people work. For many employees, working from home now offers greater flexibility, reduced commuting costs and the freedom to live further away from traditional employment hubs.

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

To find out which locations offer the best environment for remote workers, this OddsMonkey study compares 19 cities across England that represent different regions of the country. Cities were evaluated across several key indicators including broadband speed, cost of living, life satisfaction scores and the proportion of residents who mainly work from home.

Full Data Set: Best UK Cities for Remote Workers 

City	Broadband Speed	Cost of Living	Life Satisfaction Score	Works Mainly From Home	Score /10
Milton Keynes	582.4	66.9	7.5	36.4	7.08
Coventry	698.2	63.9	7.3	25.8	6.83
Brighton	628	73.8	7.4	42.7	6.79
London	446.8	88.5	7.5	67.4	6.12
Oxford	311.2	75	7.8	38.8	6.08
Newcastle upon Tyne	284.6	66.6	7.5	30	5.74
Leeds	204.9	66.3	7.5	33.8	5.7
Nottingham	521.8	65.1	7.2	25.5	5.68
Bristol	311.5	69.8	7.3	38.6	5.67
Reading	248.2	70.6	7.4	39.3	5.59
Birmingham	487	68.3	7.2	25.8	5.54
Liverpool	442.7	65.2	7.1	26.1	5.51
Guildford	158	75.4	7.6	44.2	5.46
Southampton	508.6	70.6	7.2	25.6	5.4
Cardiff	178.8	65.8	7.2	36.1	5.25
Sheffield	118.4	63.1	7.3	28.8	5.07
York	44.4	68.1	7.6	35.5	5
Manchester	195	67.4	7	31.6	4.58
Cambridge	353.9	73.4	6.5	45.5	4.23

 

The Best Cities for Remote Work in England

Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes ranks as the best English city for remote workers, performing strongly across several of the key indicators used in this study. The city has the third-fastest broadband speed among the 19 cities analysed, at 582.4 Mbps, providing the fast and reliable internet connection that remote workers rely on for video calls, cloud services and day-to-day online collaboration.

The city also performs well in terms of overall quality of life. Milton Keynes has a life satisfaction score of 7.5, placing it joint fourth in the study, suggesting residents enjoy a healthy balance between work and personal life. While the cost of living ranks eighth, it remains relatively competitive compared with larger urban centres, making the city an attractive option for professionals seeking affordability without sacrificing connectivity or amenities.

Milton Keynes is also developing a positive environment for modern working patterns. According to the Centre for Cities, it is the UK’s fastest-growing city for housing in 2026 and ranks in the top 10 nationally for innovation, employment, population growth, business stock and GVA per hour. Alongside this growth, the city centre has seen a rise in coworking-style and laptop-friendly venues, including cafés, hotel lobbies and flexible workspaces that actively cater to remote professionals.

Coventry

Coventry ranks as the second-best English city for remote workers, driven largely by its exceptional digital infrastructure and affordability. The city has the fastest broadband speed among the 19 cities analysed, averaging 698.2 Mbps.

Affordability is another key strength. Coventry ranks second for cost of living, with a score of 63.9, meaning residents can enjoy lower everyday expenses compared with many other English cities. While its life satisfaction score of 7.3 places it joint 10th, the combination of strong connectivity and relatively affordable living costs makes the city an attractive option for those looking to maximise both productivity and financial flexibility while working remotely.

Coventry’s impressive performance is also supported by its rapidly developing digital infrastructure. The city has one of the most advanced broadband networks in the UK, with a trajectory toward near-universal full-fibre coverage of around 99.9%. This continued investment in connectivity helps ensure that remote workers in Coventry benefit from reliable, future-proof internet access across much of the city.

Brighton

Brighton ranks as the third-best English city for remote workers, supported by reliable connectivity and a high proportion of residents already working from home. The city has the second-fastest broadband speed among the 19 cities analysed, with average speeds of 628 Mbps, ensuring remote professionals have access to the essential utilities. 

Brighton also stands out for its established remote-working culture. Around 42.7% of residents mainly work from home, the fourth-highest share in the study, suggesting that flexible working arrangements are already widely adopted in the city. This can help foster a supportive environment for remote professionals, with more businesses, cafés and shared spaces adapting to flexible work patterns.

In addition, Brighton achieves a life satisfaction score of 7.4, ranking eighth overall, indicating that residents enjoy a relatively high quality of life. While the cost of living ranks 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 among the best places in England for remote workers.

Methodology

This study aimed to identify the best UK cities for remote workers by analysing several factors that influence the quality of remote working and overall lifestyle. Data for the analysis was sourced from a range of reliable public datasets and industry sources.

Data Collection

Four indicators were selected to represent key aspects that affect remote workers:

• Broadband speed
• Cost of living index
• Life satisfaction score
• Percentage of residents who mainly work from home
  

Broadband speed data was collected from BroadbandSpeedTest.uk, providing information on average internet speeds across UK cities.

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

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

Data on the proportion of people who mainly work from home was obtained from the Office for National Statistics Census dataset, which records working patterns across the UK.

These indicators were chosen as they reflect important elements of remote working life, including internet infrastructure, affordability, wellbeing, and the prevalence of remote work culture.

Data Normalisation

Since each indicator was measured using different units and scales, the data was normalised to allow meaningful comparison across cities.

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

• 10 represented the best-performing city
• 0 represented the lowest-performing city
  

For positive indicators such as broadband speed, life satisfaction, and the percentage of people working from home, higher values corresponded to higher scores.

For the cost of living index, lower values corresponded to higher scores, as lower living costs are more favourable for remote workers.

Composite Score Calculation

After normalisation, each city received a score out of 10 for each of the four indicators.

The overall score for each city was calculated by taking the average of the four normalised scores, producing a final composite score out of 10.

This ensured that each factor contributed equally to the final evaluation.

Ranking

Cities were then ranked based on their composite score from highest to lowest.

Cities with higher scores were considered more favourable locations for remote workers based on the selected indicators.