Twin Cities

Axios Twin Cities

More than one in five people in the Twin Cities metro area who were working in 2022 did so from home, according to U.S. census data released last week. 

That's down from 26% in 2021 but above the national average of 15.2%. 

State of play: The work-from-home revolution is most entrenched in big cities with large concentrations of office buildings, and downtown economies that survived because of those office buildings being full.

Locally, Xcel Energy called workers back into the office three days a week starting in September and U.S. Bank has also been asking workers to come in more. 

Yes, but: Some of Minnesota's biggest corporations are dramatically downsizing their office footprint. Most recently it was UnitedHealth, which is departing its main Minnetonka headquarters tower and moving those employees to its Eden Prairie Optum campus. 

Wells Fargo, Prime Therapeutics, Thomson Reuters, and Target have also consolidated their office spaces. 

Twin Cities residents still working from home in high numbers

More than one if five Twin Cities workers were still working from home in 2022

Remote work

More than one in five people in the Twin Cities metro area who were working in 2022 did so from home, according to U.S. census data released last week. <ul><li>That&#x27;s down from 26% in 2021 but above the national average of 15.2%. </li></ul>

News

Axios Twin Cities, anchored by Torey Van Oot, Nick Halter and Audrey Kennedy, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard

Seattle

Axios Seattle

By the numbers: Among metro areas, Seattle had the fifth highest share of people who said they mostly worked from home in 2022 (tied with Washington, D.C.)The percentage of Seattle-area residents working from home is down from its pandemic-era peak, but it's still higher than in most metro areas, according to new census data.

Driving the news: A little over 25% of people in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area worked mostly from home last year, per American Community Survey data released last week.

That's higher than the national average, in which roughly 15% of people reported working remotely most days.

Why it matters: While many employers are pushing a return to the office, employees in competitive markets like Seattle have been slow to give up the benefits of working from home, which include saving commute time and gas money.

By the numbers: Among metro areas, Seattle had the fifth highest share of people who said they mostly worked from home in 2022 (tied with Washington, D.C.)

Data: Census Bureau; Chart: Axios Visuals

The percentage of remote workers in the Seattle region trailed Boulder, Colorado (32%); Austin, Texas (28%); San Francisco (27%); and Raleigh, North Carolina (26.1%).

Plus: Remote work in the Seattle metro area is down about 5 percentage points year-over-year, after reaching a high of 30.6% in 2021.

Previously, in 2019, slightly under 6.5% of Seattle-area residents said they work remotely most days.

Of note: The city of Seattle itself had a higher share of at-home workers last year than the larger metro area, with an estimated 36% of Seattle workers saying they worked at home most days in 2022.

That's down about 11 percentage points from 2021.

What we're watching: Whether Seattle's work-from-home numbers decline further in 2023, after companies like Amazon and Starbucks announced return-to-office mandates earlier this year.

Remote work in Seattle remains above U.S. average

About a quarter of people in the Seattle metro area said they worked mostly from home last year.

By the numbers: Among metro areas, Seattle had the fifth highest share of people who said they mostly worked from home in 2022 (tied with Washington, D.C.)The percentage of Seattle-area residents working from home is down from its pandemic-era peak, but it&#x27;s still higher than in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="most metro areas" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/16/work-from-home-offices-remote-work-census" data-vars-content-id="31fe9bc9-aacf-4d11-a5b0-4185ad9b383d" data-vars-headline="Remote work in Seattle remains above U.S. average" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/16/work-from-home-offices-remote-work-census" target="_self">most metro areas</a>, according to new census data.Driving the news: A little over 25% of people in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area worked mostly from home last year, per American Community Survey data released last week.

Business

COVID

San Antonio

Axios San Antonio

Whats Next

Axios What's Next

Data: U.S. Census Bureau; Chart: Axios Visuals

The share of people working from home in San Antonio has decreased slightly from a pandemic-era high, but it is still far above what it was before COVID-19 hit.

Why it matters: Remote work is affecting San Antonio's cityscape as local companies have pulled out of downtown office space, leaving fewer employees to support a daytime economy downtown.

By the numbers: 14.8% of San Antonio metro area workers were working from home as of 2022, compared with 15.8% in 2021, per new Census Bureau figures released this month.

Just 4.8% of San Antonio workers were working from home in 2019.

The big picture: Workers in America's biggest, most competitive cities aren't giving up the flexibility and savings — in both time and gas money — of working from home, Axios' Sam Baker and Simran Parwani report.

What's happening: Every state has more remote workers now than in 2019, before the pandemic.

Even after two years, the trend line is barely moving, according to the Census figures.

Zoom out: Overall, 15% of the U.S. worked from home last year — but the numbers are generally much higher on both the East and West coasts.

Austin had the second highest share of remote workers of any metro last year, at 28%. It fell behind Boulder, Colorado.

The bottom line: Companies are trying to find a balance between remote and in-person work.

What we're watching: How remote work could change our downtowns.

San Antonio still has more remote workers than before COVID

Remote work is affecting San Antonio's cityscape.

The share of people working from home in San Antonio has decreased slightly from a pandemic-era high, but it is still far above what it was before COVID-19 hit.Why it matters: Remote work is affecting San Antonio&#x27;s cityscape as local companies have <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="pulled out of downtown office space" data-vars-click-url="https://sanantonioreport.org/usaa-downtown-san-antonio-office-towers/" data-vars-content-id="8ec0c965-9e28-4308-b10d-b3fb2b17dba7" data-vars-headline="San Antonio still has more remote workers than before COVID" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://sanantonioreport.org/usaa-downtown-san-antonio-office-towers/" target="_blank">pulled out of downtown office space</a>, leaving fewer employees to support a daytime economy downtown.

San Francisco

Almost a third of San Francisco's metro-area workers were working from home as of 2022, per recent Census figures.

The big picture: Workers in America's biggest, most competitive cities aren't giving up the flexibility and savings of working from home — both in time and gas money, Axios' Sam Baker and Simran Parwani report.

Zoom out: Overall, 15% of the U.S. worked from home last year, with numbers much higher on both the East and West coasts.

San Francisco and San José both were in the top 10 cities with the number of people working from home— though their main rival for tech jobs — Austin, Texas — was even higher.

Of note: While the Southeast generally is well below the national average, every state has more remote workers now than in 2019.

What we're watching: The work-from-home revolution is most entrenched in big cities as they tend to have a concentration of office buildings.

The solution in these cities is likely to come from ambitious redevelopment projects — like converting office towers into residential buildings or central business districts into mixed-use neighborhoods.

That work is complex, difficult and extremely expensive, but it's already underway in several cities.

Nearly a third of San Francisco workers worked from home in 2022

Workers in America's biggest, most competitive cities aren't giving up the flexibility and savings of working from home.

Almost a third of San Francisco&#x27;s metro-area workers were working from home as of 2022, per recent Census figures.The big picture: Workers in America&#x27;s biggest, most competitive cities aren&#x27;t giving up the flexibility and savings of working from home — both in time and gas money, Axios&#x27; Sam Baker and Simran Parwani report.

Austin

Remote work is holding strong here — 28% of Austin metro area workers were working from home as of 2022, compared to a peak of 32% in 2021, per newly released Census Bureau figures.

Driving the news: That's the second-highest percentage among American metro areas, the highest in Texas and well above the national average.

The big picture: Workers in America's biggest, most competitive cities aren't giving up the flexibility and savings — in both time and gas money — of working from home.

Every state has more remote workers now than it did in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Flashback: Austin saw the biggest net gain of remote workers of any major city in 2020-21, per a New York Times analysis. 

Steven Pedigo, director of the University of Texas' LBJ Urban Lab and a professor studying economic development, previously told Axios he's optimistic that remote workers will stick around because of the city's social cohesion.

Plus, he said the city remains less expensive compared to where many moved from, like California and New York.

Zoom out: Overall, 15% of the U.S. worked from home last year, versus nearly 18% in 2021 — but the numbers remain much higher on the East and West coasts and in large metro areas.

Boulder, Colorado — with just under a tenth of Austin's population — had the highest share of remote workers of any metro area last year at 32%.

San Francisco and San Jose were both in the top 10, but their main rival for tech jobs — Austin — beat them out.

Just over 25% of the Washington, D.C. metro area workforce is remote — the sixth highest rate of any city, and higher than any state.

The other side: Mississippi has the lowest share of remote workers in the U.S., at just 5.5%, and the Southeast generally is well below the national average.

And even after two years, the trend line is barely moving. Nationwide, the share of people working from home declined by less than 3 percentage points between 2021 and 2022, according to the Census Bureau figures.

What we're watching: The work-from-home revolution is most entrenched in big cities with large concentrations of office buildings, and downtown economies that survived because of those office buildings being full.

Office vacancy rates downtown remain 3% higher than the metro average, according to the Downtown Austin Alliance's latest quarterly report, signaling that remote work is still having an impact.

Tech companies like Meta have released downtown Austin office space.

The solution in these cities is more likely to come from ambitious redevelopment projects — converting office towers into residential buildings and central business districts into mixed-use neighborhoods.

The city of Austin, for example, recently acquired an office building to convert it into affordable housing, CoStar reported.

Austin is still one of the nation's top remote work hubs

It's the second-highest among American metro areas, per new Census Bureau data.

Hub Data - All

Remote work is holding strong here — 28% of Austin metro area workers were working from home as of 2022, compared to a peak of 32% in 2021, per newly released Census Bureau figures.Driving the news: That&#x27;s the second-highest percentage among American metro areas, the highest in Texas and well above the national average.

Simran Parwani

Stories

San Antonio still has more remote workers than before COVID

Austin is still one of the nation's top remote work hubs

Nearly a third of San Francisco workers worked from home in 2022

Twin Cities residents still working from home in high numbers

Remote work in Seattle remains above U.S. average