Key Takeaways
• The New York metro area claimed the highest number of coworking spaces, 594.
• At the state level, California checks a whopping 1,188 coworking spaces — nearly double that of runner-up Texas.
• Surprisingly, even states with fewer large metropolitan areas — like Nevada, Minnesota, Utah and Wisconsin — made the top 25, which demonstrates a clear rising interest in the coworking segment.
• The city of Boston registered the biggest jump in the share of remote workers in 2021 — more than seven times higher than in 2019.
Demand for flexible working spaces is exploding as workers across the U.S are increasingly straying away from traditional office models and heading toward a more balanced work environment. In fact, a Statista report shows that the number of people working in coworking spaces today has more than tripled since 2015. And, while the coworking concept was already taking off prior to the pandemic, the last couple of years have certainly accelerated a trend that is now solidly here to stay.
With this in mind, we examined the number of coworking spaces in the U.S. to determine which metropolitan areas have the most to offer their remote workers. What we discovered is that the New York metro area is the absolute best place to be as a remote worker, given that residents here can find almost 600 coworking spaces to meet their needs. While this number certainly seems high, it’s important to note that, in 2021, there were more than 890,000 remote workers in New York City alone. And, given the high demand from this demographic, it’s likely that coworking spaces will continue to grow — both in the New York metro and in other places across the country.
California is 2022’s Undisputed Champion, but 3 Other States Boast 500+ Coworking Spaces Each
Perhaps unsurprisingly, California claimed the most coworking spaces, with a whopping 1,188 spread across multiple popular cities. That is almost double that of the runner-up, Texas, which logged 652 coworking spaces across the entire state. The third-largest state in the U.S. that also has the largest total population, California is famous for its startup environment in Silicon Valley, thereby making coworking that much more attractive here.
Apart from California and Texas, there are only two other states that boast over 500 coworking spaces among their cities and metros — Florida and New York. Much like the established tech hubs of California, cities like Miami and New York City’s boroughs have been known to increase their business -friendliness in recent years. As a result, they’re attracting many startups, entrepreneurs and freelancers, all of whom are likely to increase the demand for coworking spaces.
After a significant gap, Illinois and Georgia follow in fifth and sixth in our ranking with 287 and 264 coworking spaces, respectively. Meanwhile, three other states — Colorado, Ohio and North Carolina — checked in with more than 200 coworking spaces each.
Notably, Nevada, Minnesota and Wisconsin also logged fairly impressive numbers of coworking spaces, despite not having more than a couple of large metro areas. Utah even rounds up the top, even with just one single large metro area at its core.
Coworking Spaces Are Taking Over the Nation’s Top Bustling Markets, With the New York Metro in the Lead
Without further ado, let’s explore the top metros with the most coworking spaces in 2022:
1. New York, NY – 594 Coworking Spaces
Perhaps unsurprising, the New York metro is the ultimate hotspot for remote workers this year, as it checks an impressive 594 coworking spaces spread across its boroughs, as well as parts of nearby New Jersey, Westchester County and Long Island. Specifically, the city of New York logs the highest number of flexible working spaces (456), with the most of them concentrated in Manhattan and Brooklyn, which check 333 and 100 coworking spaces, respectively. With almost 900,000 remote workers at the core of the city in the last year, it’s no wonder that the increasing demand for coworking spaces is pushing the New York metro to the top of our ranking.
2. Los Angeles, CA – 588 Coworking Spaces
Another bustling metro area with a large population and enticing job opportunities, Los Angeles has 588 coworking spaces, with the highest number (117) in the city of Los Angeles. Irvine is the next area with a solid supply of coworking areas (95), while Newport Beach follows with 28 and Long Beach with 20. Other locations across LA provide less than 20 coworking spaces each, however, given the large number of zip codes belonging to the City of Angels, the distribution of flexible working spaces means that there are at least a few options nearby.
3. Washington, D.C – 295 Coworking Spaces
Politically inclined remote workers can find exactly what they’re looking for in the nation’s capital, given that Washington, D.C. comes in third place with 295 coworking spaces. While 98 can be found in the city proper, other cities — like Arlington and Alexandria, VA, check over 20 coworking spaces, with 25 and 24, respectively. Interestingly enough, Washington, D.C. is the second city on our list where the number of people who work remotely has changed significantly since 2019. More precisely, almost half (48%) of workers in the city were working remotely last year, compared to only 7% in 2019. This accounts for a significant shift that speaks volumes to the demand for coworking spaces in the nation’s capital — and one that is closely followed by San Francisco, CA. Here, the number of remote workers increased from 7% in 2019 to 46% in 2021.
4. Chicago, IL – 279 Coworking Spaces
The Chicago metro area also scores an impressive number of 279 coworking spaces. However, the difference in distribution here is significant. While the city of Chicago provides 154 flexible workspaces for its residents, the next cities in line — like Schaumburg, Naperville and Evanston — have less than 10. That is likely because there is no significant concentration of offices outside of Chicago’s core. But, given Chicago’s timeless appeal in terms of both business and leisure, it’s easy to see why so many remote workers gravitate to the heart of the city in an effort to balance work and personal life in the best possible manner.
5. Dallas Fort-Worth, TX – 261 Coworking Spaces
As Texas’ first entry on our list — but not its last — the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex area makes the top 10 nationwide locations with the highest number of coworking spaces, logging 261. And, while that sought-after Southern hospitality, year-round good weather and lack of state income tax could easily be seen as standalone selling points for remote workers, the fact that Dallas provides 98 coworking spaces is also a huge benefit. At the same time, Plano, Fort Worth and Irving also check over 10 flexible workspaces each, boosting up the metro area as one of the best for remote workers.
6. Atlanta, GA – 252 Coworking Spaces
Remote workers in the Atlanta area can choose from 252 coworking spaces the metro has to offer. Similar to Chicago, Atlanta also has a clear difference in distribution, as the city itself checks 133 coworking spaces, while the next place inside the metro — Alpharetta — has only 20. However, unlike Chicago, Atlanta is unique due to its smaller business centers that are located outside of its urban core and Midtown. For instance, Buckhead and Sandy Springs have impressive business areas that include coworking spaces, despite being outside the city center. Additionally, in 2021, there were almost four times more remote workers in the city of Atlanta as compared to 2019, a percentage that went up from 10% to 39%.
7. Denver, CO – 218 Coworking Spaces
Denver is also a great place to be as a remote worker, especially an active one who would enjoy an adventure or two at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Most of the coworking spaces in this metro area — 87, to be precise — can naturally be found in the city of Denver, but Colorado Springs also has 20 flexible workspaces and Boulder, 18. Furthermore, 23 other cities in this metro also provide coworking spaces, making it easy for residents to choose a convenient location near their home. Denver also registered a significant change in its share of remote workers in recent years, as 3.5 times more people are now working remotely. Compared to 2019 levels, the city’s growth went from 9% to 32%.
8. Houston, TX – 208 Coworking Spaces
The second entry from Texas in our top 10, Houston has 208 coworking spaces spread across 15 cities. Naturally, most of these flex spaces are located in the city of Houston (154), with Sugar Land being the only other city that checks over 10. The rest of the cities inside the metro — such as Katy, Spring or The Woodlands — provide less than 10 coworking spaces each to their residents. Even though Houston is already an established working hub with great job opportunities, it is also one of the cities with the lowest change in the share of remote workers. The change, however, still accounts for a notable outcome, as 16% of workers in the area operated remotely in 2021 versus only 4% in 2019.
9. Boston, MA – 198 Coworking Spaces
Not to be outdone, the Boston metro area follows in line, with 10 fewer coworking spaces than Houston. But, while the city of Boston houses 63 of those spaces and Cambridge, 22, the rest of the cities inside this bustling metro offer five or less coworking spaces each. Still, the large number of cities with at least one coworking space in the Boston metro contributes to its high placement in our ranking. Boston is also the city that registered the highest change in the number of people who work remotely, as 30% of them do so today, compared to only 4.1% in 2019.
10. Bay Area, CA – 171 Coworking Spaces
Combine a high-tech business environment with idyllic beaches and some of the country’s best wines and it’s easy to see why the Bay Area rounds up the top 10 metros with the most coworking spaces. Remote workers here benefit from 171 flexible workspaces, with 32 of them located in San Jose and 26 in Oakland. Berkeley and Santa Clara also score over 10 coworking spaces each with 17 and 12, respectively. Meanwhile, 27 other locations log at least one coworking space, making it easy for residents to find one close to their home .
Methodology
• To calculate the number of coworking spaces, we used proprietary data from our sister division, CommercialEdge, last updated in September 2022.
• The total number of properties includes unique operators from the same building. If an operator had more than one space in the same location/building, the number of properties remained one.
• The list of markets, as considered for this research, can be found here: https://www.commercialedge.com/marketsmap/. *Exceptions: the New York City metro area includes some counties in northern New Jersey, upstate New York and Long Island. Orange County is included in the Los Angeles metro area.
• The data regarding the work-from-home levels was extracted from Census: ACS 1-year estimates 2021 vs. ACS 1-year estimates 2019. Check the table below for city-level increases:
