Recent data from CoWorking Magazine highlighted changes in Work from Home (WFH) trends across the United States, focusing particularly on the Greater Seattle area. The analysis used the latest Census Bureau data from 109 metro areas to examine how remote work has changed over the past decade.
In 2023, Bellevue reported that 26% of its workforce worked remotely, a significant increase of 364% compared to 2014, when only 5.6% of workers were remote. The number of remote workers in Bellevue rose from 3,909 in 2014 to 21,082 in 2023. This growth peaked in 2021 at 48.1%, when 35,564 workers were remote, but dropped afterward as companies required employees to return to the office.
In the larger metro area, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue region ranked eighth nationally for the share of remote workers, with 20.3% of its workforce working from home in 2023. The remote work rate increased from 5.7% in 2014 to a high of 30.6% in 2021, reflecting a total growth of 256% from 2014 to 2023.
In Washington state, Spokane ranked 39th, with 14.4% of its workforce working remotely in 2023, representing a 206% increase since 2014.
Nationally, the total number of remote workers in the U.S. reached over 22 million in 2023, up from about 6.5 million in 2014, marking a 244% increase. This growth happened gradually, with remote work making up only 4.5% of the workforce in 2014, rising to 17.9% in 2021, and then falling to 13.8% in 2023.
The decline was largely due to the reopening of many businesses, especially in-person establishments and those focused on manual labor, alongside policies requiring a return to full-time office work from major companies such as Amazon, Boeing, JP Morgan Chase, and UPS.
Seattle, in particular, stood out for having a high percentage of remote workers, driven by its strong tech sector. Despite a decrease from its peak during the pandemic, the city continued to support flexible work arrangements. As of 2023, Seattle’s remote work rate remained above the national average.
Numbers are expected to decrease further as Amazon plans to return to full-time work in the office come January 2025. This announcement was made in September 2024 by CEO Andy Jassy. The shift is anticipated to have a significant impact on Downtown Bellevue, where Amazon has a substantial office presence.
