Commuting Data Provides More Insight into Remote Work

Guessing how many people actually work from home may be a lot of fun and could give rise to some vigorous disputes. A just-released report from the Census Bureau on commuting in the U.S. may give contestants some hard data to work with.

The data is from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS), and while it does not reflect the determined efforts by employers in recent months to force employees to return to the office, it could be closer to the true numbers than unofficial estimates.

The ACS shows that in 2022, almost 140 million people in the U.S. routinely commuted to work, and more than 20 million worked from home. That translates into 15.2% of the workforce working from home – 2.7% fewer than did so in 2021. In 2019, before the pandemic, only 5.7% enjoyed that luxury.

There were, however, significant regional differences. In Colorado, Washington, DC, and Washington, 20% or more of the working population was home-based. In Mississippi, North Dakota, and Puerto Rico the figure was 8% or less. The estimate of those who work from home likely excluded those who do so less frequently or less routinely, the Bureau noted. Among those who had to get to work outside the house, 68.7% drove alone. The figures were slightly different for men and women. While 78.5% of men drove to work in a car or truck, only 75.9% of women did so. One result of the return to the workplace was a one-minute longer average commute than in 2021 – even though nine million fewer workers hit the streets during the 6 am to 9 am rush hour.

The ACS also shows the 3.1% of people who used public transportation to commute to work in 2022 were far fewer than the 5% who used it in 2019, though more than the 2.5% of 2021. In the New York metro there was a 700,000 shortfall between 2019 and 2022. And while 2.9% of men used public transportation, 3.3% of women relied on it.