The percentage of Americans working primarily from home tripled to over 27 million people during the pandemic. Will the popularity of remote work last?
As questions about the ‘return to the office’ linger, new data from the Census Bureau reveal that the number of people primarily working from home tripled between 2019 and 2021, with a record-high 17.9 percent of Americans working mostly from home.
“Nearly half (48.3%) of workers in the District of Columbia worked from home, the highest percentage of home-based workers among states and state equivalents in 2021.” Other states with high work-from-home rates are Washington, Maryland, Colorado, and Massachusetts, where close to a quarter of workers now work mostly remotely. Correspondingly, commutes have dropped to an average of 25.6 minutes one-way in 2021, two minutes shorter than the average 2019 commute.
Even as COVID-19 fears subside, remote work remains popular with employees and many employers who see advantages in a reduced need for office space and more flexibility in hiring. As technology makes it possible for more industries to shift to remote or hybrid work, the transportation networks, ancillary service industries, and other systems designed around the traditional 9-to-5 commute cycle will have to adapt to the new realities of the post-pandemic city.
FULL STORY: The Number of People Primarily Working From Home Tripled Between 2019 and 2021
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Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association