Workin’ it

Austin plugs in as one of the top U.S. cities for remote workers

Gotta love that WFH life.

Photo by Maskot/Getty

If you’re a remote worker living in Austin, you might just want to stay put. A new ranking names the Capital City as one of the best in the U.S. for remote workers.

For its remote-work ranking, outdoor services provider LawnStarter — based in Austin — examined data for 194 of the biggest U.S. cities covering 20 factors, including remote job opportunities, internet connectivity, cost of living, and availability of personal workspace.

Austin takes the No. 6 spot, scoring particularly well in the connectivity category (No. 12) and the convenience category (No. 14).

This isn't the only work-from-home study to put a spotlight on Austin. Last year, it earned the top spot on a list of the world’s best cities for freelancers, many of whom work remotely. In June, Apartment List ranked Austin the sixth best U.S city for remote workers; also this year, Austin grabbed the No. 9 spot on SmartAsset’s list of the best cities to work from home.

Six other Texas cities appear in the new ranking, with Frisco, outside of Dallas, plugging into the No. 1 spot. Texas' showing on the list stands in contrast to a recent report that ranked Texas as the state with the unhappiest workers. (Maybe more employers should allow people to work from home?)

Here are LawnStarter’s 20 best cities for remote workers:

Frisco
Naperville, Illinois
Dallas
Arlington
Atlanta
Austin
Tampa, Florida
Plano
Raleigh, North Carolina
Cincinnati
Houston
Nashville
Cary, North Carolina
Chicago
Denver
Salt Lake City
Charlotte, North Carolina
San Antonio
Arlington, Virginia
Seattle

lists technology rankings

Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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