Exeter named third best UK city for remote workers, according to new study

To get to the bottom of which cities truly work for remote workers, researchers at RemotePeople, an international remote recruitment agency, crunched the numbers for 60 UK cities. The team examined nine critical factors, including internet speeds (both upload and download), coworking space availability, remote job listings, cost of living, safety, and access to parks and play areas. They even looked at average data usage and how many residents are already working from home.

Each city was scored out of 100 for each factor, weighted according to importance (with internet speeds taking top priority), to form an overall ‘remote work friendliness’ score. The data was sourced from OFCOM, ONS, LinkedIn, Coworker, and Numbeo.

Exeter takes third place with a strong offering in remote job listings – 7,914 per 100K – and coworking spaces, which are plentiful at 9.28 per 100K. Whether you prefer your Zoom calls from a shared workspace or your sunny back garden, Exeter gives you options. It also performs well for safety (13th) and cost of living (18th), making it a balanced choice.

The one snag? Upload speed. At just 21.9 Mbps, it’s a sore thumb in an otherwise healthy profile. That said, it’s still a solid contender for anyone seeking a city with a thriving remote work scene, good infrastructure, and enough greenery (75.88 park/play areas per 100K) to stretch your legs after a day in front of the screen.

Southampton tops the list in 1st place with unmatched internet speeds, while Lancaster ranks 2nd and excels in affordability and upload speeds. Stoke-on-Trent, sitting in 4th, is notable for its strong WFH adoption rate (37%) and fast upload speeds. Preston, at 5th, has the highest share of home-based workers (46%) and offers strong coworking infrastructure.

St Albans comes in 6th, with standout job listing numbers and a top-tier safety rating. Lincoln follows in 7th, doing well in both job listings and safety. Nottingham, ranked 8th, is the coworking capital of the top 10, while Norwich, in 9th, combines strong green space access and security. Oxford completes the list at 10th with solid coworking numbers and a good safety ranking, although it’s one of the pricier cities to live in.

While these 10 cities lead the pack, not all came out looking rosy. London surprisingly ranked bottom overall – perhaps a reminder that sky-high rents and packed Tube stations don’t pair well with remote working dreams. Bradford, Chichester, Brighton and Hove, and Sheffield also found themselves at the lower end.

Elsewhere, some major players fell just short of the top 10. Manchester landed in 13th place, Bristol 16th, Leeds 17th, Liverpool 22nd, Cambridge 24th, Edinburgh 25th – and Birmingham lagged behind in 43rd.

It seems the best city for working from home isn’t always the one with the biggest skyline. Sometimes, it’s about balance – and a good internet connection, of course.

The top 10 list of the best UK cities for remote workers in the study: