The number of renters working from home is steadily declining, signaling a significant shift in the residential and remote work markets. In 2023, four million rental units in the U.S. were occupied by heads of households who worked from home, marking a 20% drop from the peak of five million in 2021. This data, analyzed by Chandan Economics using the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, highlights a notable trend despite the total number of full-time work-from-home renters still being 184% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
“As we look ahead, two competing truths will impact labor markets and rental markets alike,” the Chandan Economics report noted. “The prevalence of remote work is considerably more widespread than it was a half-decade ago — and Pandora is not going back into her box. At the same time, return-to-office momentum accelerated in 2024, and these data are likely to show continued declines in future releases.”
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