States Where the Most Workers Are Headed Back to the Office

American corporate culture was already adapting to a growing trend toward telecommuting when the COVID-19 crisis made the United States a work-from-home country. Conventional wisdom is that the movement is here to stay, that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks in most cases and that employers are now too heavily invested in telecommuting to go back. In needing people to work remotely, the crisis made the home office a reality for millions who didn’t know it was possible before, and in many cases, the 20th-century office model was rendered obsolete.

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Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, GOBankingRates identified 19 states where that trend is moving in the other direction now. These are the places where the switch appears temporary as fewer people are working from home and more people are heading back to the office. The study shows the percentage of adults working in telecommuting households and how that percentage changed from the end of the summer through the end of the fall. For reference, the same data for the country as a whole is included at the end. Take a look at where people are headed back to offices.

Last updated: Jan. 4, 2021

Oregon

• Total population (18+): 3,302,727
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 36.9%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 36.8%
• Change in telework: -0.1%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 6.9%

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New York

• Total population (18+): 14,847,080
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 41.6%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 41.4%
• Change in telework: -0.2%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 9.6%

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Kansas

• Total population (18+): 2,140,957
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 36.0%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 35.7%
• Change in telework: -0.3%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 5.3%

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California

• Total population (18+): 29,939,021
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 39.7%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 39.4%
• Change in telework: -0.3%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 9.3%

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Missouri

• Total population (18+): 4,617,880
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 32.7%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 32.2%
• Change in telework: -0.5%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 4.6%

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New Mexico

• Total population (18+): 1,589,574
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 33.0%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 32.4%
• Change in telework: -0.6%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 8.1%

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New Hampshire

• Total population (18+): 1,073,014
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 40.8%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 40.1%
• Change in telework: -0.7%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 4.2%

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Washington

• Total population (18+): 5,890,357
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 42.0%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 41.2%
• Change in telework: -0.8%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 6.0%

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Hawaii

• Total population (18+): 1,073,229
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 37.0%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 36.2%
• Change in telework: -0.8%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 14.3%

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Georgia

• Total population (18+): 7,955,983
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 37.8%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 36.9%
• Change in telework: -0.9%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 4.5%

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Delaware

• Total population (18+): 754,637
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 35.4%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 34.5%
• Change in telework: -0.9%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 5.6%

Read More: Here’s What Offices Will Look Like in a Post-Pandemic World

Rhode Island

• Total population (18+): 817,559
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 40.9%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 39.5%
• Change in telework: -1.4%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 7.0%

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Texas

• Total population (18+): 21,356,906
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 35.6%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 34.2%
• Change in telework: -1.4%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 6.9%

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Maine

• Total population (18+): 1,065,620
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 36.2%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 34.8%
• Change in telework: -1.4%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 5.4%

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Nevada

• Total population (18+): 2,399,457
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 29.8%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 27.2%
• Change in telework: -2.6%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 12.0%

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South Dakota

• Total population (18+): 642,658
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 29.7%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 27.0%
• Change in telework: -2.7%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 3.6%

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Minnesota

• Total population (18+): 4,241,624
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 44.2%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 41.0%
• Change in telework: -3.2%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 4.6%

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Michigan

• Total population (18+): 7,644,458
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 38.4%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 33.5%
• Change in telework: -4.9%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 5.5%

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United States

• Total population (18+): 249,170,916
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Aug. 19-31): 36.30%
• Percent of adults in a teleworking household (Nov. 11-23): 36.9%
• Change in telework: 0.6%
• Oct. 2020 unemployment rate: 6.9%

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Methodology: To identify the states where people are headed back to the office, GOBankingRates analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Household Pulse Survey on the percentage of adults living in households where at least one adult has substituted some or all of their in-person work for telework because of the coronavirus pandemic. GOBankingRates first identified (1) the percentage of adults who reported teleworking in their household in the period Aug. 19 through Aug. 31, 2020, and (2) in the period Nov. 11 through Nov. 23, 2020. GOBankingRates then calculated (3) the percentage point change in adults who reported teleworking in their household between the two periods. GOBankingRates found that while teleworking has steadily grown in most states, it decreased between August and November in 19 states and decreased by more than one percentage point in eight. GOBankingRates provided the total adult (18+) population in each state from the Household Pulse Survey and the October 2020 unemployment rate in each state from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as supplemental data. All data was collected on and up to date as of Dec. 15, 2020.

About the Author

Andrew Lisa

Andrew Lisa has been writing professionally since 2001. An award-winning writer, Andrew was formerly one of the youngest nationally distributed columnists for the largest newspaper syndicate in the country, the Gannett News Service. He worked as the business section editor for amNewYork, the most widely distributed newspaper in Manhattan, and worked as a copy editor for TheStreet.com, a financial publication in the heart of Wall Street’s investment community in New York City.

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