Why Should Location Matter When You Work From Home?

Updated Feb. 7, 2025.

When I do my work from home job leads, I try pretty hard to find jobs that are mostly not too location-based. Things that are open to everyone, or at least open to a large number of US states are always preferable to most people.

When something is open only to people in a certain geographic area, this really narrows the pool of people who can apply. Still, I find a LOT of location-based jobs, and some of them sound so good I hate not to post them.

One thing I see asked a lot is, why should your location matter when you work from home?

People really get frustrated about this and tend to think it's just dumb and makes no sense. There are actually some good, valid reasons for why your location still matters to many companies that might let you work from home.

Below are the most common reasons:

Training

Some companies want you to do your training in person at their location for a while before they turn you loose to work at home. This is despite the fact that virtual training has now become the standard.

Companies now offer comprehensive online onboarding programs via platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and customized learning portals, but you will still occasionally see a requirement that you must train in person.

Meetings

Some companies have regular staff meetings and want everyone — even their remote workers — to attend in person. For this reason, they will not consider hiring applicants for their remote jobs who wouldn't have the means to attend these meetings.

That said, in 2025, most businesses have fully embraced virtual collaboration tools. Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Asana tend to be the norm for meetings.

Still, not being able to attend in-person meetings can be a dealbreaker for some companies.

Equipment

These days, most companies ship necessary tools directly to employees, but I do occasionally see it stated that you need to live close to the office so you can drop in to pick up equipment you might need.

Interview

Some people absolutely will not hire someone they can't meet in person first. A phone interview or webcam session just won't always cut it. But again, this is something I am seeing less and less nowadays.

Time Zone Differences

Even if a job is fully remote, time zone differences can be factored into hiring decisions.

Companies that require employees to be available during specific hours may prefer candidates in the same or similar time zones to avoid scheduling issues.

If a job description states a preferred location but doesn’t explicitly require it, it may be possible to apply as long as you’re willing to work their required hours.

The Law

One of the biggest reasons companies still consider location is state labor laws and tax regulations. Hiring employees across different states means dealing with varying tax codes, payroll laws, and insurance requirements.

Some states also have higher employer tax rates, making it more expensive for companies to hire remote workers from those locations.

If a job is only available in certain states, this is often the reason why.

Insurance & Liability Issues

Remote workers are typically covered under an employer’s workers’ compensation policy, but these policies vary by state.

Some companies restrict remote workers to locations where they can easily maintain legal compliance with insurance and liability policies.

If an employer isn’t set up to handle workers' compensation in your state, they may not be able to legally employ you there.

Split Work From Home Time

I have come across many mostly remote jobs that require at least one day per week worked in the office, so in order for that to work out you're going to need to live close by.

Even though it's a huge letdown to be excluded from a position because of your location, the above reasons are not really unfair.

Companies all have their own rules and are well within their rights to handle things the way they see fit in regard to training, meetings, interviews, work from home days, and everything else mentioned above. But it does look like more companies are opening up to the idea of doing most everything virtually, so that's good news.

Are you outside the US?

Most of the jobs I post are US-based with a few exceptions. I do have some information on worldwide work at home jobs that might help if you're not in the US.

Should you apply anyway?

It couldn't hurt, but don't get your hopes up. If the location requirement is for tax reasons, there really won't be a way around that.

But if you know you're absolutely perfect for the job and the company wants a local worker for something like an in-person interview or once per week meetings at the office, who knows, they might consider bending their rules a bit. I have seen where some companies say they might make exceptions for the right candidates.