Remote work is shaping the Triangle

Remote work plays a hugely influential role in the Triangle, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Driving the news: More than 26% of workers in the Raleigh metro area worked from home in 2022 — a rate that far exceeds the national average of 15.2%.

• In the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area, that number was 21.6%.

Why it matters: The increase in remote work since the onset of the pandemic has had a massive influence on everything from half-empty office buildings in downtown Raleigh to a demand for bigger homes in the suburbs.

• And workers are not showing signs of being willing to give up their increased flexibility, Axios' Sam Baker writes.

Zoom in: The Triangle was among the regions leading the nation in remote workers. San Francisco, Austin and Boulder, Colorado — all tech hubs as well — were the only cities that had a larger share of remote workers. The trend has been transformative.

• Downtown Raleigh's core, long reliant on office buildings, has struggled to re-emerge from the pandemic.

• An influx of remote workers from bigger cities with bigger incomes has helped drive up prices of homes — and it's caused a surge of interest in the suburbs with people looking for larger homes.
• Even apartment builders have changed how they've designed their buildings to include more coworking space.

By the numbers: Overall, 15% of the U.S. worked from home last year, according to new Census figures released last week — but the numbers are much higher along the East and West coasts and in other large metro areas.