Remote Jobs by State — What to Know

Remote jobs are not always available in every state. Even when a role is fully work-from-home, many employers restrict hiring to specific states — usually because of state income tax registration, employment law, workers’ compensation, or business-licensing requirements. This guide explains how state eligibility works and how to check it before you apply.

Companies that hire remote workers must often register to do business and pay taxes in each state where an employee lives. To avoid that administrative cost, some employers exclude states with stricter regulations or higher compliance burden. The states most commonly excluded or restricted include California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and occasionally others. This is a general pattern, not a rule — eligibility changes over time and varies by employer.

Because state eligibility is set by each employer and shifts over time, this directory does not maintain per-state company lists that could go stale or mislead. Instead, the most reliable approach is to confirm state eligibility directly on each employer’s official careers page: most remote postings list the states they will hire from, or state “remote — United States” when nationwide. Browse the category landing pages below to find employers by field, then verify state eligibility at the source.

A few practical tips: if you live in a commonly restricted state, search the employer’s careers page for your state name; some employers hire residents of restricted states as independent contractors instead of employees; and remote-first companies tend to hire nationwide more often than those transitioning to remote work.