Hawaii is 1 of 2 worst states to work from home according to report

The state of Hawaii ranks second to last when compared to others in the U.S. when it comes to being the best state for working from home, according to WalletHub’s latest report.

The personal finance website ranked Hawaii No. 50, just one rung above Alaska of best states for working from home. WalletHub’s ranking of 50 states and the District of Columbia is based on 12 key metrics across two key dimensions including work environment and living environment.

Metrics include the share of workers who were working from home before the coronavirus pandemic hit and share of potential telecommuters, as well as internet access, cybersecurity, and how large, and how crowded homes are in the state.

Prior to the pandemic, only 25% of all workers in the U.S. had worked from home.

The best states for working from home on the list include Delaware (No. 1), Washington (No. 2), New Hampshire (No. 3), Colorado (No. 4) and Georgia (No. 5.)

Hawaii received a score of 46.84, and ranked No. 18 in work environment, and No. 51 in living environment due to its high cost of real estate and electricity.

Although Hawaii ranked among the top five states with the highest household internet access rate, the state ranked last in highest average retail price of electricity.

Delaware, according to WalletHub, is the best state for working from home due in part to the fact that it has the sixth largest average home square footage. In addition, nearly 97% of households in Delaware have internet speeds above 25 Megabits per second.

Alaska ranks low because only around 68% of the population has broadband internet access, and the state has the fifth lowest share of potential telecommuters.

The worst states for working from home were Oklahoma (No. 47), Arkansas (No. 48), Mississippi (No. 49), Hawaii (No. 50), and Alaska (No. 51).

During to coronavirus outbreak, many states, including Hawaii, have mandated that everyone stay at home, and that employees work from home, except for essential workers. WalletHub says companies should allow employees to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

WalletHub collected data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Global Workplace Analytics, BroadbandNow and U.S. Energy Information Administration, among other sources.