Key takeaways
- U.S. coworking added 228 locations in Q3, though growth cooled.
- Los Angeles still has the most spaces, while Manhattan keeps the largest footprint.
- Portland and Jacksonville were the quarter’s fastest-growing markets.
- HQ grew fastest among major brands, but independent operators still dominate.
If the first half of 2026 was about coworking holding its ground, the third quarter was about where it chose to plant new flags. U.S. coworking inventory grew 2.4% in Q3, from 9,384 to 9,612 locations — a net gain of 228 spaces — while total footprint rose 1.2% to 168.36 million square feet. Growth, however, didn’t stop, and more of it happened away from the country’s flagship metros.
Some of the bigger swings we have seen in market growth and contraction are from large management agreements and landlord-led in-house brands. This is a segment we are paying close attention to over the next year as buildings look to offer more options and flexibility in terms and space.
– Peter Kolaczynski, Director Yardi Research
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Smaller Markets, Bigger Gains: How Growth Is Spreading Beyond the Top 50
Nationwide, the number of active coworking locations rose from 9,384 in Q2 to 9,612 by the end of Q3 2026 — a 2.4% quarter-over-quarter increase. Total allocated coworking square footage grew at roughly half that pace, climbing 1.2% from 166.36 million to 168.36 million square feet.
That’s been the slow-building story all year. National location growth slipped from 3.2% in Q1 to 2.7% in Q2, and now to 2.4% in Q3. Square footage followed the same arc, easing from 2.9% to 1.5% to 1.2%. Meanwhile, coworking’s slice of the broader office market inched up again: flexible workspace now accounts for approximately 2.5% of total office inventory across the markets we track, up from 2.34% in Q2 and 2.28% in Q1. Granted, that’s a modest share — but it’s one that has grown every single quarter this year.
Growth in Q3 wasn’t limited to the largest flex hubs, as markets outside the top 50 also saw their coworking footprint expand. Even so, the top 50 still dominate in absolute terms, holding 77% of all U.S. coworking locations and 86% of total square footage. Smaller markets are worth watching in the quarters ahead, but for now, the national coworking footprint remains firmly anchored in its biggest metros.
Breaking down the top 50 markets by region, the South continues to hold the largest share of coworking real estate, with 18 markets accounting for 33.7% of top-50 markets’ total square footage (48.81 million square feet) and 36.4% of locations. Its growth this quarter, however, was nearly flat in terms of space (0.1%), even as location count rose 1.9%. The West was the clear growth engine of Q3: its 14 markets added 72 locations (up 3.5%) and grew their combined footprint by 1.6% to 40.22 million square feet — the strongest regional performance on both counts, with the Bay Area, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Portland all contributing meaningfully.
The Midwest posted steady, if quieter, gains, as locations rose 2.1% and square footage edged up 0.5% to 22.71 million. The Northeast, meanwhile, was the only region to lose space, with square footage slipping 0.6% to 33.22 million — largely due to contractions in Manhattan and Pittsburgh — even as it added 15 locations overall.
Los Angeles Keeps the Location Crown as Manhattan Overtakes D.C.
Los Angeles extended its lead as the market with the most coworking locations, adding 11 spaces to reach 360. That’s a 3.2% gain for a market that’s already the largest in the country by count — and a reminder that L.A.’s sprawling geography, with its many distinct business districts from Santa Monica to Downtown, naturally supports a dense network of flex spaces.
Chicago held onto the second spot it claimed last quarter, growing 2% to 353 locations, while Dallas-Fort Worth followed in third with 344 spaces (up 1.8%), keeping the Metroplex firmly on the podium. Further down the list, there was a notable shuffle: Manhattan (307 locations) edged past Washington, D.C. (304) for fourth place. Interestingly, Manhattan didn’t get there by growing — it actually lost one location — but D.C. lost five, slipping from 309 to 304. Atlanta (306) also moved ahead of the nation’s capital, adding four locations.
Some of the most compelling movement, however, came from markets that don’t usually headline these reports. Portland led the top 50 in location growth, adding eight spaces to reach 87 — a 10.1% increase. For a metro known for its independent spirit and creative-industry workforce, the expansion appears to be a good match. Meanwhile, the Bay Area (Oakland and the East Bay) added 14 locations — the most of any market in absolute terms — for an 8.9% increase. Right next door, San Francisco also had a strong quarter, adding 11 locations (up 6.8%), suggesting that the Bay’s flex recovery is still gathering steam.
Jacksonville (up 9.4% from 64 to 70 locations), St. Louis (up 8.7% to 100), San Antonio (up 8.5% to 77), and Austin (up 8% to 122) also posted notable location gains.
Not every market moved forward, though. Nine of the top 50 markets lost locations this quarter, with Washington, D.C. (down five) posting the largest decline, followed by Miami, Raleigh-Durham, and Central Valley (each down two).
Manhattan Still Leads in Footprint, but Mid-Tier Markets Post the Fastest Gains
When it comes to total coworking footprint, Manhattan remains in a league of its own, with 12.25 million square feet of allocated coworking space. Chicago follows with 9.31 million square feet (up 0.4%), and Los Angeles rounds out the top three with 7.66 million square feet, after adding approximately 147,000 square feet — the largest absolute gain of any market this quarter.
Dallas-Fort Worth (6.98 million) and Washington, D.C. (6.89 million) complete the top five. Notably, D.C. recorded the largest absolute decline in the country, losing about 438,000 square feet (down 6%). The drop appears to reflect broader market shifts, with some movement away from larger-format locations — in fact, the market’s average coworking space shrank 4.4% this quarter, from 23,705 to 22,652 square feet. Of course, some of this space could well return to the market in the coming quarters, so D.C.’s dip may prove more of a pause than a pullback.
In terms of growth, Jacksonville posted the highest square footage increase in the top 50, at 8.5%. Florida’s largest city by land area continues to draw new residents and businesses, and its flex market seems to be keeping pace. Orlando (up 7.8%) and Kansas City (up 7.7%) also stood out, adding 122,000 and 102,000 square feet, respectively. What’s more, Portland’s footprint grew 7.5%, making the Rose City one of several markets to post strong gains on both fronts. Fort Lauderdale (up 5.4%) and Salt Lake City (up 5.1%) also posted solid gains, as did the Bay Area (up 3.6%) and San Francisco (up 3.3%, or about 130,000 square feet).
On the other hand, Pittsburgh saw the steepest percentage drop (down 6.6%), followed by Washington, D.C. (down 6%) and Central Valley (down 5.5%). Las Vegas (down 3.1%) and Houston (down 2.4%) also contracted. It’s worth noting that quarterly contractions of this size often reflect a handful of large closures or consolidations rather than a broad pullback in demand — so these are figures to watch over the next few quarters rather than to read as trends in their own right.
Looking at coworking as a share of each market’s total office inventory, Brooklyn leads the top 50, with flex space accounting for 5.40% of its office stock. Miami (4.95%) and Fort Lauderdale (4.08%) follow, with Indianapolis (3.98%) and Las Vegas (3.73%) rounding out the top five. Florida markets are well-represented here, with West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (3.51%) and the Southwest Florida Coast (3.47%) also ranking among the top seven. On the other end of the spectrum, Baltimore (1.52%), Pittsburgh (1.53%), and Detroit (1.58%) have the lowest coworking penetration among the top 50 — which, depending on how you look at it, could also signal room for growth.
Average Space Size Keeps Shrinking, but Manhattan Still Plays in Its Own League
Because location count once again grew faster than total space, the national average coworking space shrank for the third quarter in a row — down 1.2%, from 17,728 to 17,515 square feet. This continues a pattern we’ve flagged all year: new entrants tend to be smaller, more nimble formats, which pulls the average down even as the overall footprint expands.
Manhattan’s average coworking space is by far the largest in the country, at 39,888 square feet — more than double the national average.
Austin offers a clear example of the smaller-format trend: while its location count rose 8%, its total square footage barely moved (up 0.3%), and its average space size dropped 7.1%. Houston is a similarly interesting case, as it added four locations while losing about 118,000 square feet, which points toward larger spaces closing and smaller ones opening in their place.
National Median Prices Hold Steady — Except for Day Passes
Coworking pricing remained remarkably stable at the national level this quarter. The national median price for a coworking membership (open workspace and dedicated desk) held at $219 per person per month, unchanged from Q2. Meeting rooms also stayed put at $45 per hour, while virtual offices held at $169 per month. The one exception was day passes, whose national median dropped from $34 to $30 — an 11.8% decrease that essentially reverses the increase recorded earlier this year.
At the market level, Manhattan remains the most expensive place to hold a coworking membership, at $339 per month — and this quarter, Brooklyn caught up with it, after its median rose from $320 to $339. Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco, and a long list of other markets cluster around $235.
The biggest membership increases came from the Midwest and Mountain West. St. Louis saw the sharpest jump, with its median membership rising 26% from $150 to $189. Indianapolis followed, with prices climbing 14.3% from $175 to $200, and Salt Lake City was up 11.8% from $169 to $189. Detroit (up 7% to $214) and San Antonio (up 6.8% to $189) also moved higher. On the other hand, Sacramento (down 5.7% to $207) and Jacksonville (down 5% to $189) posted the largest decreases. Meanwhile, Columbus remains the most affordable top-50 market for memberships, at $149.50 per month.
Virtual office rates once again showed the most market-level volatility. The Southwest Florida Coast recorded the largest increase, with prices rising 28% from $125 to $160 per month. Austin (up 23.3% to $159), San Francisco (up 12.6% to $179), Orange County (up 10.1% to $175), and Atlanta (up 9.9% to $189) also grew more expensive.
At the same time, Miami saw the steepest drop, with its median virtual office price falling 19.4% from $124 to $100. Inland Empire (down 9.6%), Fort Lauderdale (down 8.4%), and Richmond-Tidewater (down 8.1%) also became more affordable. New Jersey remains the priciest top-50 market for virtual offices, at $215 per month, while Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, and Inland Empire are the most affordable, at $99.
For day passes, Manhattan registered a 22.5% increase, from $40 to $49 — now the highest in the top 50. Boston, Long Island, and White Plains follow at $45. In contrast, Las Vegas saw its median day pass drop 23.1%, from $39 to $30, while Kansas City, Cleveland-Akron, and Sacramento offer the cheapest day passes at $25.
Meeting room prices were mostly flat, with a few notable exceptions: Orange County rose 30% (from $50 to $65 per hour), while Kansas City and Cleveland-Akron each increased 25% (from $40 to $50). Manhattan is still the most expensive market for meeting rooms at $69 per hour, despite a slight decrease from $72.50.
Regus Holds the Lead as HQ Posts the Fastest Growth Among the Big 5
The five largest coworking brands — Regus, HQ, Industrious, Spaces, and WeWork — added 91 locations in Q3, growing 4.2% to a combined 2,275 locations nationwide. That’s roughly 40% of all net new locations this quarter, and 23.7% of total U.S. coworking inventory.
Regus continues to lead by a wide margin, expanding 4.2% from 1,285 to 1,339 locations nationwide. Not to be outdone, HQ posted the fastest growth among the big five, adding 29 locations for a 7.5% increase (from 388 to 417). Industrious grew 3.7% from 191 to 198 locations, while Spaces added two locations (up 1.2%) to reach 173. WeWork was the only major brand to contract, slipping 0.7% from 149 to 148 locations.
The geographic split between these brands is telling. Nearly all of Industrious’ (99.5%) and WeWork’s (100%) locations sit within the top 50 markets, and Spaces isn’t far behind (91.3%). Regus and HQ, by contrast, have roughly 20% of their footprint in smaller markets — and both grew faster nationwide than in the top 50 this quarter. That aligns neatly with the broader shift toward secondary and tertiary metros.
Still, it’s worth remembering that the big five are the exception rather than the rule. Independent and regional operators continue to account for approximately 76% of all U.S. coworking locations.
Methodology
- To compile this report, we used proprietary data from CoworkingCafe to determine the number of coworking spaces per market, as well as the total square footage and leading operators.
- The study relied solely on the listing data available on CoworkingCafe as of October 2026.
- The top 50 markets analyzed were established by our sister company Yardi Matrix and were ranked based on allocated square footage.
- In terms of pricing, we looked at the national median starting prices per person per month for virtual office, monthly memberships (open workspace + dedicated desk), day passes (daily open desk coworking) and meeting rooms (hourly booking).
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