Office occupancy approaching pre-pandemic levels in some cities

Office foot traffic is picking up, but only in certain places.

According to a new study from Placier.ai, offices in some U.S. cities are approaching pre-pandemic occupancy levels. The study compared the office occupancy rates from July 2019 to last month in 11 major U.S. cities.

The two cities leading the recovery pack were Miami and New York. Both reached or exceeded 90% of July 2019’s office occupancy levels.

After those two is a steep drop-off. Atlanta came in third, reaching 76.7% of pre-pandemic occupancy. Dallas and Washington, D.C., round out the cities above 70% of pre-pandemic levels, with Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Houston and San Francisco scoring below 70%.

On a national level, offices have reached 72.2% of pre-pandemic occupancy levels.

U.S. workers have been returning to the office at greater rates this year, helped in part by corporations issuing return-to-office mandates. Still, many Americans operate on hybrid schedules, working remotely for part of their workweek.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.