Salt Lake City is a remote work hotspot
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Salt Lake City leads the nation as a hotbed for remote workers, new census data reveals.
The big picture: Last year, about 18.5% of employees in the metro area's labor force worked remotely, surpassing the national average of 14%.
Why it matters: Remote and hybrid schedules have made maintaining a work/life balance an easier equation for many Americans — but that hasn't been enjoyed equally nationwide.
Between the lines: Industries associated with real estate, waste management services, finance, insurance and leasing had the highest shares of remote workers in the state, per a University of Utah Kem C. Gardner statewide analysis.
- Meanwhile, people employed in the armed forces, arts, recreation and food service sectors were less likely to work from home.
- Between 2019 and 2021, the number of Utahns who worked from home almost tripled, reflecting national trends.
- A larger portion of people with college degrees worked away from the office than those with high school diplomas, according to the data.
Zoom out: Nearly or more than a quarter of workers in Boulder, Colorado; Austin, Texas; and Raleigh, North Carolina, were working from home as of 2023, per Census Bureau data.
- Denver and Washington, D.C., are also WFH hotspots, with 22.3% and 21.9% of workers signing on at home, respectively.
Yes, but: The trend over the last few months has been a slow but steady return to the land of cubicles, water cooler chitchat, and harsh fluorescent lighting.
- Many workers are at least enjoying a hybrid schedule, splitting their workdays between home and the office.
Between the lines: Companies' big return-to-office push is a sign that employers are gaining more leverage over workers, Axios' Emily Peck writes.
What's next: The incoming Trump administration is likely to push the country's federal workforce back into the office — largely as a way to trim headcount.
- That could especially affect D.C.'s ranking here.