The latest in remote work statistics

You might recognize your own team in this high-level overview of the state of remote work.

• By workplace: As cited by Owl Labs, 16% of companies worldwide are fully remote; 44% of companies don’t allow any remote work ("Statistics on Remote Workers that Will Surprise You," Apollotechnical.com, Jan. 2025).

• Having the remote-work option: 58% of U.S. employees surveyed by McKinsey reported they can work remotely at least part of the time; 35% can do so full-time and 23% part-time ("Americans are embracing flexible work--and they want more of it," McKinsey.com, Jun. 2022).

• Taking the remote-work option: 87% of those who are offered the option to work remotely take it (McKinsey.com, Jun. 2022).

• Full-time vs. part-time: 10.9% of the U.S. workforce worked remotely full-time, and 23.3% did so occasionally, according to workers surveyed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in November 2024. This is an increase from 19.3% (roughly ⅕) in August 2023 ("TED: The Economics Daily," U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Sep. 2023).

• Men vs. women: Men work remotely more than women. 38% of men work remotely full-time, while 23% do part-time. For women, those numbers are 30% and 22%, respectively. (Haan, "Top Remote Work Statistics and Trends," Forbes.com, Jun. 2023).

• Generational stats: Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) are working remotely the most of today's current working generations (Strazzulla, "The Work from Home Hotspots Across the U.S.," SelectSoftwareReviews.com, Sep. 2023).

• Educational stats: 56% of U.S. remote workers have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. (Strazzulla, Sep. 2023). The rate of working remotely increases with education level (Barrero, Bloom, Davis, "The Evolution of Work from Home," Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Jul. 2023).

Remote work productivity statistics

You’ve probably seen it in headlines: Remote workers aren’t as productive as office workers! But is that really true? Employees and their managers can have different takes on the productivity achieved during remote work, and perceptions don’t always align with reality. Let’s see what the numbers have to say.

Perceptions of remote work productivity

• What employees believe: 77% of workers believe they are more productive when working remotely (Dawkins, "Remote Work Statistics and Trends: The Latest in Remote Work," flexjobs.com, Dec. 2024). 51% of remote workers also felt that asynchronous work contributed to this productivity boost (Brower, "The Productivity Problem with Remote Work," Forbes.com, Aug. 2023).

• There’s a wide range of opinions regarding what managers believe about the productivity of their remote workers. Here are the stats from a few different studies:

  • Upwork study: 22.5% of surveyed managers said productivity dropped, but 32.25% of surveyed hiring managers said productivity rose (Apollotechnical.com, Jan. 2025).

  • Stanford study: Managers believed remote workers are 3.5% less productive. (Brower, Aug. 2023).

Quantitative remote work productivity statistics

When reporting remote work productivity statistics, individual teams and organizations often have great results to share.

• Overall productivity wins: Remote workers at American Express were 43% more productive than their in-office counterparts. Measures taken by Best Buy, British Telecom, and Dow Chemical showed that remote workers were 35% to 40% more productive ("The Costs and Benefits of Hybrid Work," globalworkplaceanalytics.com).

• Time savings and earnings: According to Sun Microsystems' measurements, 60% of the time no longer spent commuting was spent completing additional work. AT&T found that remote workers spent five more hours working each week ("The Costs and Benefits of Hybrid Work," globalworkplaceanalytics.com).

Productivity stats can start to look differently, though, when reviewed in aggregate.

However, some studies indicate productivity actually drops when working fully remotely. A Stanford analysis of existing studies shows that fully remote workers' productivity dropped between 10% and 20% (Brower, Aug. 2023).

So what gives? What accounts for the discrepancy? 

Lots of things, certainly, and many that are beyond the control of even the most well-meaning manager. But you do have a lot of control over the culture you cultivate on your remote team. Modeling healthy work-life balance and promoting a culture based on transparency and trust could go a long way toward reducing productivity dips on your remote team.

Remote hiring and job market trends

A 2024 survey conducted by Robert Half had thse remote role findings:

• 37% of job seekers are in the market for fully remote roles (Robert Half, "Remote Work Statistics and Trends for 2024," roberthalf.com, Nov. 2024).

• The percentage of newly created roles that are fully rmeote increases with the required years of experience: 10% of entry-level roles, 13% of mid-level roles, and 17% of senior roles (Half, Nov. 2024).

Where is all this remote work happening, and what is everyone up to? Putting aside the digital nomads, let’s look at some fascinating remote work statistics by area and industry.

Geographic remote work statistics in the U.S.

Examining the areas in the U.S. where remote work is most common tells a story about what kind of work is popular among its citizens. According to 2023 U.S. Census data, these states (plus D.C.) rank for the most and least remote workers by percentage (Strazzulla, Sep. 2023):

Remote work statistics and trends by state

Let's dig a bit deeper and look at city-level data. As of 2023, these metro areas boasted the highest percentage of remote workers (Mehdi Punjwani, "Best Cities for Remote Workers," forbes.com, Oct. 2024).

Best cities for remote work

And these metro areas come in last in terms of the percentage of remote workers (Half, Nov. 2024).

Cities with the lowest percentage of remote workers

But you don’t need these stats to know that remote work can (and does) happen anywhere. Successful remote work isn’t about geography; it’s about team culture—including the tangible, like tools, and the intangible, like the camaraderie.

Remote work statistics by industry

According to FlexJobs, these industries are among the leaders in the number of remote job postings (Jessica Howington, "Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs in 2024," flexjobs.com, May 2024).

1. Computer and IT

2. Accounting and finance

3. Marketing

4. Medical and health

5. Project management

6. Customer service

7. Sales

8. Administrative

9. HR and recruiting

10. Operations

Why employees look for--then love--remote work

Remote work is tremendously valuable to employees: In a 2024 FlexJobs survey, 58% of respondents said they would take a salary cut in exchange for the ability to work remotely (Megan Dawkins, "70% of Workers Want Companies to Change 40-Hour Workweek: FlexJobs Survey," flexjobs.com, Oct. 20240. What you offer your remote team is likely that important to them, too!

Work-life balance is often considered the biggest perk of remote roles (Dawkins, Dec. 2024). Many who work remotely feel that the flexibility makes this balancing act easier. One survey found that 71% of respondents felt that remote work helped them balance their work and personal lives, and only 12% reported that the opposite was true (Haan, Jun. 2023).

Let's break down the workforce sentiments and measurable benefits of remote roles.

Mental health benefits of remote work

Mental health and remote work statistics

Depending on the survey, more than half of employees feel fully remote roles are ideal for their mental health—between 56% and 82% (Dawkins, Dec. 2024). Reasons cited include (Dawkins, Dec. 2024):

• Less stress and burnout

• Better sleep

• Less depression and anxiety

• More exercise

• Overall physical health improvements that reinforce mental wellness

Sure, correlation doesn’t equal causation—it’s difficult to pinpoint what it is about remote roles that creates these mental-health benefits–but we do know that anything we can do to keep our teams healthy is worthwhile.

Remote work fringe benefits statistics

A 2024 Forbes Advisor survey of remote workers found that these are the top five fringe benefits that job seekers (and long-time employees) want their companies to provide (Dennis O'Reilly, "Best Employee Benefits," Forbes.com, Oct. 2024):

1. Flexible hours: The ability to control when the workday starts and ends (within reason, of course) is key to cultivating a work-life balance.

2. Employer-provided equipment: Company work should be done with company equipment. This is good for all employees, not just remote workers. It ensures everyone uses the right tools.

3. Home office stipend: Computers, monitors, and other tech gear aren’t the only things that go into a workspace. Remote workers who receive stipends to create a comfortable working environment might be inclined to spend more time being productive.

4. Virtual team-bonding activities: Employers that were surveyed rated virtual team-bonding of higher importance than employees that were surveyed, but it still made it into the top five.

5. Internet connection stipend: This benefit is distinct from a home office stipend and ensures remote workers have appropriate at-home connectivity with minimal downtime.

Yes, these fringe benefits do come at a cost to the employer. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for these remote-work add-ons, but they won’t be anywhere near as costly as office space or the search for a new employee.

Remote work talent pool opportunties for employers

Staying competitive practically requires offering at least some remote-work opportunities: 84% of the white-collar workforce won’t consider a role that is on-site full-time (Medhi Punjwani, Sierra Campbell, "Remote work statistics and trends in 2025," usatoday.com, Oct. 2024). Lucky for small teams that need to make the most of every penny in the budget, remote roles mean more return for every dollar spent on payroll:

• Finding talent where they live. When you can build your team without borders, there are fewer barriers to finding the best fit for your team. You can tap into unemployed and underemployed groups more easily, too, which include unemployed professionals with some college education (~18 million), disabled members of the working-age population (~16 million), and part-time workers on the hunt for full-time work (~14 million) (Global Workplace Analytics). Wider talent pools also lead to more qualified candidates; 60% of surveyed HR pros indicated that once roles became remote, their inboxes were flushed with more quality candidates (Anna Day, "Beyond boundaries: How remote work benefits employers," remote.com, Jan. 2024).

• Keeping talent once you find them. We know remote work options boost retention rates (to the tune of 25%) (Day, Jan. 204), but the benefits go beyond tamping down turnover.

Remote work cost-saving opportunities for employers

A Global Workplace Analytics survey captured this eye-popping stat: For every employee hired to work remotely rather than on-site, one responding 21-person business saved $11,000 annually per hire. Here are some ways those savings are aggregated, also per Global Workplace Analytics:

• Costs unrelated to real estate: It can be harder to sift through all the remaining line items that don’t fall under rent or mortgage on an office—utilities, maintenance, supplies—but there are aggregate examples. Dow Chemical and Nortel, for example, saw savings of over 30% on their non-real estate balance sheets after shifting to more remote work.

• Payroll: Remote employees deserve pay commensurate with that of their in-office counterparts, of course. But there are monetary benefits (read: BIG SAVINGS) to remote roles that make salaries even sweeter. Employees’ savings estimates range between $2,000 and $7,000; more money in your employees’ pockets boosts morale and the bottom line.

• Relocation costs: Not only is your applicant pool bigger than ever with remote work, but it comes without the need to offer relocation support to lure candidates to your locale. Those costs can add up: Nortell estimates $100,000 per employee.

Yes, many of these savings are huge because huge companies report them, but imagine what even a fraction of these costs could mean for small remote businesses, too.

Embracing remote work

The data speak volumes: remote work is no longer just a trend—it's a proven strategy for boosting productivity, expanding opportunities, and fostering healthier work-life balance. Remote work isn't just a shift in where we work—it's a transformation of how we connect, innovate, and succeed together. Let’s make the most of it together!

How can you harness these insights to empower your team?