Denver ranks No. 12 nationally for remote workers

Denver dominates as one of the nation's top cities to embrace remote work, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

By the numbers: Nearly one-third of workers ages 16 and older in the Mile High City primarily worked from home in 2021 — outpacing the national average of 17.9%, per the latest American Community Survey released this month.

• The share of workers clocking in and out from home put Denver 12th on the rankings of U.S. cities with 300,000 residents or more.

Why it matters: The fresh figures provide one of the most reliable indications yet of the pandemic's impact on residents' work-from-home habits, which have impacted everything from downtown's recovery and public transportation ridership to home prices and tech salaries.

Zoom out: Across Colorado, the percentage of people who worked from home increased from 9% in 2019 to about 24% in 2021.

• Nationwide, the number of people primarily working from home tripled from 5.7% to 17.9% in that same stretch, Axios' Erin Doherty writes.

What we're watching: What will become of all those shiny center city office towers — particularly since Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is proposing to spend $75,000 in federal aid to conduct a study downtown to explore converting 10 to 15 high-rise office buildings into housing.