WSJ: Lafayette the 5th best place in U.S. to live as remote worker
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For the second time this month, Lafayette finds herself near the top of another Wall Street Journal ranking list — this time as the fifth best place to live in the United States as a remote worker.
Earlier this month, the Lafayette and West Lafayette metro area appeared at the top of the Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Market Index in the country.
“We are delighted with the recognition from the Wall Street Journal as a place of choice for remote workers to call home,” Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said.
With the rise of remote working, individuals are no longer tied to the cities of their employers and are able to move across the country to cities that fit their needs and desires.
This population of workers has grown to about 13% of working Americans, or about 25 million individuals, according to Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom.
When it came to determining what remote workers find as an ideal location, the Survey firm Ipsos evaluated 10 factors that remote workers said they most cared about.
These factors included high-speed internet access, housing prices and size, cost of living, unemployment, access to airports and quality of life amenities such as availability of dining options, parks, entertainment and arts were some of the highest-weighted items.
“We have encouraged sustainable growth and development on all levels as a way to welcome not only workforce members," Roswarski said, "but also students, young families and individuals, professionals and empty nesters."
“Our community offers public art and entertainment, trails, parks and recreation, affordable housing, low taxes, a safe community and excellent public services. We welcome remote workers and look forward to becoming their home of choice.”
Lafayette wasn’t the only Indiana city to appear — Evansville was ranked higher than Lafayette, being recognized as the third-best place to live, while Fort Wayne was ranked 10th on the list.
The top spot went to Springfield, Missouri.
When trying to determine what may have held Lafayette back from the first place, the biggest contributing factor would mostly like be its housing price.
Among the list, Lafayette has the highest average house price at $318,498. The lowest would be in Huntington, West Virginia, which averages about $148,177.
Across the Wabash River in West Lafayette, leaders at Purdue University and city government created opportunity for remote workers to call the university town their home. In 2021, through the Purdue Research Foundation and the remote-worker relocation platform MakeMyMove.com, Purdue began extended the invitation to live and work in West Lafayette.
Successful applicants live at Purdue’s Discovery Park District, a 400-acre research area that includes drop-in and co-working spaces as well as private offices and conference spaces.
In 2022, $50,000 in funding was approved in an agreement between the City of West Lafayette and Purdue Research Foundation to be used as incentives for those who chose West Lafayette as their new remove-work hometown.
Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: WSJ: Lafayette an ideal place for remote workers
