Working from home is now a regular part of life for many people in the UK. Whether it’s full-time or part of a hybrid routine, remote work depends on more than just a quiet room and a laptop. It needs cities to deliver stable broadband, support consistent upload speeds, and offer services that keep things affordable and flexible.
But not every city is built the same way. Some places deploy full fibre networks, host more coworking spaces, or offer better coverage from local providers. Others still rely on copper-based infrastructure or struggle to keep housing and services within reach.
A new study from recruitment agency RemotePeople looks at 60 UK cities and checks how well each one can support the needs of remote workers. This includes internet performance, access to shared workspaces, local job listings, and cost of living.
What Was Measured
The study used nine main factors. These were picked because they affect how smoothly someone can work from home. The most weight was given to average download speed (15%) and upload speed (15%) — both pulled from Ofcom data.
Other things that were looked at:
- Coworking spaces (how many per 100,000 people)
- Remote job listings
- How many people are already working from home
- Data usage levels
- Cost of living
- Local safety
- Access to parks and play areas
Each city was scored out of 100 for each factor. The final score reflects how well a city can handle remote work setups from both a tech and lifestyle point of view.
Southampton Leads with Strong Speeds
Southampton comes out on top. The city delivers the fastest average internet speeds in the study — 279.3 Mbps for download and 174.9 Mbps for upload. These speeds suggest that many homes are now connected to full fibre networks. Providers like toob, Openreach, Virgin Media and nexfibre have built strong local coverage.
It’s not just the speed. The city also supports enough coworking space, keeps living costs reasonable, and maintains a good safety rating. While it doesn’t score highest in job listings or green space, its overall balance puts it ahead.
Lancaster Offers Strong Job Access and Low Costs
Lancaster takes second place. It hosts a high number of remote job listings — over 7,200 per 100,000 people. This makes it a good choice for people looking to switch roles or find flexible work.
Living costs are also lower than in bigger cities. However, broadband here doesn’t match Southampton’s levels. Upload speed in particular is on the lower side, which can limit performance during video calls or file sharing. Coworking spaces are also limited, so people mostly rely on their home connection.
Exeter Scores Well on Workspaces but Slows on Uploads
Exeter lands in third. It supports plenty of coworking spaces — over 9 per 100,000 people — and has a healthy number of job listings. These give remote workers more choice in where and how they work.
But the city delivers upload speeds of just 21.9 Mbps, which is low for modern work needs. That can be a problem if you’re sending large files, hosting calls, or using cloud-based tools.
Still, if your work doesn’t involve too much upload traffic, Exeter offers a good mix of flexibility and access.
Stoke-on-Trent and Preston: High Remote Work Take-Up
Stoke-on-Trent is in fourth place. It records one of the highest work-from-home rates — around 37% of people here are already doing it. That shows the city has enough network capacity to handle day-to-day tasks.
It delivers download speeds around 195 Mbps, but coworking space is harder to find. For people who work mostly from home and don’t need shared space, it’s a cost-effective option.
Preston follows closely in fifth. It leads all cities in WFH uptake, with 46% of residents working from home. Internet speeds are weaker, though — upload speeds sit around 21.3 Mbps, which might slow down tasks that require constant upstream traffic. Still, good coworking access and low costs help make up for that.
St Albans Has Jobs, But Costs and Speed Drag It Down
St Albans tops the list for remote job availability, with over 10,000 postings per 100,000 people. It’s also a safe and green city. But the cost of living here is high, and upload speed is just 23.5 Mbps, which may not be enough for heavy digital workloads. This pushes it down to sixth.
Cities in the Lower Half of the Top 10
Lincoln, in seventh place, delivers strong job availability and keeps costs manageable, but its broadband speeds are well below average — especially upload, which is only 18 Mbps. That limits what users can do if they rely on video or cloud syncs.
Nottingham, ranked eighth, offers the highest coworking space density of all cities in the list. But its download and upload speeds lag behind, and it doesn’t offer as many job listings as others in the top 10.
Norwich comes in ninth. It performs reasonably well on job access and public space, but like Lincoln, upload speeds (18.7 Mbps) fall short. That slows down collaborative work, especially during peak hours.
Oxford rounds out the top 10. It hosts a lot of coworking spaces and gives good access to green areas, but internet speeds are below average, and housing is expensive. That keeps it from climbing higher.
London Comes Last
Despite being the UK’s biggest city, London finishes last. The capital struggles with high costs, lower-than-expected internet speeds, and limited coworking availability relative to its size.
Even with coverage from all major providers, many London areas still run on FTTC (fibre-to-the-cabinet) or older coaxial lines. That holds back upload speeds and introduces delays — especially in blocks with lots of users on the same cabinet.
For people who need stable upstream capacity, this setup won’t always support smooth remote working.
Why Upload Speeds Matter
Many people focus on download speed, but upload performance matters just as much for remote work. If you’re using:
- Video calls
- Cloud drives
- Remote desktop tools
- Screen sharing
- Live editing on shared platforms
…then you’re pushing data upstream regularly. Cities that only deliver fast download rates won’t keep up with remote demands if upload performance is poor.
And it’s not just about speed — it’s also about what broadband technology is in place. Cities with FTTP (fibre-to-the-premises) can support symmetrical speeds, while areas still on FTTC or cable will always show an imbalance between download and upload.
Conclusion
If you’re working from home full-time or even part-time, it pays to check whether your city can deliver the internet performance you need — not just on paper, but in actual usage.
Southampton clearly leads this year with a strong combination of speed, safety, and value. Lancaster and Exeter also show good setups, especially for those looking for jobs and flexible workspaces.
On the other hand, big-name cities like London don’t always guarantee the right conditions for remote work. Without consistent broadband and affordable space, daily productivity takes a hit.
As more people switch to flexible roles, the cities that invest in full fibre, expand coworking capacity, and keep living costs in check will be the ones that stay ahead.