Telecommuting has significantly transformed daily routines across the U.S., influencing how and when people hit the road. With 13.8% of full-time workers now working remotely part-time or more, up from 5.7% in 2019, traditional commuting peaks have shifted, creating new traffic dynamics.
But is WFH a one-size-fits-all solution to fixing the traffic congestion problem? To answer this question, we looked at traffic volume and work from home levels for more than 80 cities across the U.S. We also took into account traffic congestion as provided by TomTom’s traffic index, comparing 2019 and 2023 congestion levels. These levels are measured as the percentage of extra travel time in traffic versus free-flow conditions.
Despite telecommuting being one of the key factors reshaping traffic patterns across the U.S., its impact on congestion is far from consistent. And while remote work can alleviate some congestion, it is not an across-the-board solution. As more people continue to telecommute, cities must adapt their transportation strategies to address the evolving traffic dynamics and manage growing road usage beyond just peak commuting hours.
Remote Work Hits the Gas in the South, But Traffic Still Stalls in Some Cities
The Southern U.S. experienced diverse traffic congestion outcomes as WFH rates increased from 6% in 2019 to 16% in 2023.
Raleigh saw the most dramatic reduction in traffic congestion of 17% between 2019 and 2023. Not coincidentally, telecommuting in the area experienced an uptick, from 10.5% to 23.6%. While the pandemic drove WFH adoption, this shift has persisted due to its long-term flexibility benefits even after offices reopened. Raleigh’s tech sector has been a major driver of this transition, with many companies embracing flexible working conditions ramping up hiring in the area.
Similarly, Tulsa, OK followed this trend, experiencing an 8% decrease in congestion. The city's work-from-home levels also saw a notable rise, increasing from 6.1% in 2019 to 15.8% in 2023.
Jacksonville, FL, also offers an optimistic picture, with congestion levels decreasing slightly by 6%, despite Florida’s state traffic volume rising by 2%. Jacksonville’s decrease in congestion amid rising state traffic suggests that a combination of remote work adoption, infrastructure improvements, along with its large geographic spread helped the city buck the trend of rising congestion in Florida. The almost threefold growth in remote work—from 4.7% in 2019 to 13.2% in 2023—played a key role in this outcome. Jacksonville’s financial services sector transitioned smoothly to telecommuting, allowing the city to avoid what could have been a more severe congestion increase.
A bit further west, San Antonio, TX, saw a 5% drop in congestion. Like Jacksonville, San Antonio benefitted from a surge in WFH adoption, with rates climbing 237%. The city's growing tech and sector contributed to this shift, helping to keep congestion in check even as Texas experienced an 8% rise in state-level traffic volume.
Birmingham, Louisville, and Other Key Cities Fail to See Traffic Relief Despite WFH Surge
Meanwhile, cities like Birmingham, AL, Orlando, FL and Louisville, KY, maintained the same level of congestion in 2023 as in 2019, with telecommuting increasing by 235%, 156% and 176%, respectively. Steady levels of congestion despite the rise in telecommuting can partly be explained by increasing non-commuting traffic, such as delivery services and ride-sharing. Birmingham’s introduction of the “On-demand” ride-sharing service has increased the use of shared tides across the city, contributing to traffic flow despite being an alternative to private vehicles. Similarly, Louisville, being a key logistics hub with companies like UPS, sees high levels of freight traffic, which compounds congestion even as more people work from home
Baton Rouge’s telecommuting rate increased from 2.8% to 7.9%, but the city’s reliance on the energy sector, where in-person work is more common, limited the impact of WFH on traffic reduction. In Baton Rouge, LA, traffic congestion rose by 8%, reflecting the city’s slower transition to remote work. Louisiana's overall traffic volume grew by 14%, putting additional strain on Baton Rouge's roadways.
Moving over to Columbia, SC, remote work adoption had even a lesser impact on traffic, the city experiencing a 77% increase in congestion. Even though Columbia’s WFH rate increased to more than four times its pre-pandemic levels (from 2.8% to 11.9%), it wasn't enough to offset the growing pressures on the road network. This likely stems from the city’s economic base, which relies more on industries with a limited ability to adopt telecommuting, such as manufacturing.
California Finds Traffic Relief in Remote Work, While the Rest of the West Stays Gridlocked
In the Western U.S., WFH adoption surged from 6.1% in 2019 to 16.5% in 2023, particularly in tech hubs like San Jose and San Diego, where congestion decreased. However, fast-growing cities like Phoenix faced rising traffic despite increased remote work.
Salt Lake City, UT saw a 16% decrease in congestion despite Utah experiencing a 7% rise in state traffic volume. Salt Lake City’s WFH rate grew by 182%, particularly among the city’s tech and financial sectors.
In San Diego, CA, congestion levels decreased by 12% between 2019 and 2023. California’s state traffic volume saw a 10% decrease during the same period, and San Diego’s WFH adoption rose significantly—120%. This surge in remote work, particularly in sectors like finance and information, allowed the city to manage congestion more effectively, even as it continued to grow economically. In fact, in 2019, remote job postings made up only eight and four percent of total job postings in Finance and Information, respectively. In 2023, those proportions grew to 26 and 15%.
Meanwhile, Fresno, CA, experienced a 10% reduction in congestion, driven by a growing WFH rate, which rose from 5.6% to 10.5%, along with California’s broader traffic volume decrease.
In San Jose, CA, telecommuting didn’t have as strong of an impact as expected, with congestion dropping by only 9%, despite a 236% increase in WFH adoption—the second highest in the region. Tucson, AZ, on the other hand, faced a 32% increase in congestion, even though WFH adoption doubled. Tucson’s reliance on in-person sectors like construction and real estate limited the positive effects of remote work, showing that telecommuting alone can’t always offset economic and population growth pressures.
WFH Uptick Can’t Solve Traffic Troubles in Phoenix and Oxnard
In both Oxnard, CA, and Thousand Oaks, CA, congestion rose significantly by 56%. While WFH adoption saw notable growth—Oxnard experienced a 127% increase, with telecommuting rising from 3.3% to 7.5%, and Thousand Oaks saw an even larger 180% increase, with WFH rates growing from 8.1% to 22.7%—these changes were not enough to curb the rise in road usage.
Further inland, Phoenix, AZ, faced a similar trend. In fact, Phoenix saw a whopping 28% increase in congestion. Arizona’s state traffic volume grew by 12%, reflecting the city’s rapid population growth and economic expansion. Although WFH adoption in Phoenix increased almost twofold, from 6.4% to 17.4%, the city’s booming real estate and construction sectors contributed to heavier road use, making it difficult for telecommuting to fully curb the rise in congestion.
WFH Eases Northern Traffic, But Congestion Still Hangs Over Big Cities
In the Northeast, cities saw a range of outcomes, with some benefitting from telecommuting’s rise, while others struggled with increased congestion due to lower WFH adoption and rising local traffic.
Albany, NY, for example, experienced an impressive 25% reduction in congestion. The city only benefitted from a small 31% WFH growth. However, this growth, along with a 9% drop in traffic level was enough to significantly improve congestion in the area.
One other city in the Northeast also saw reductions in congestion. Buffalo, NY, experienced a 13% decrease. Unlike Albany, Buffalo’s WFH rate increased by more than 160%, helping the city manage its congestion.
Telecommuting Can't Tame Traffic as Rochester Stalls While Worcester and Boston See Congestion Spike
In Rochester, NY, congestion remained unchanged at 14% between 2019 and 2023. This is despite a significant 184% increase in WFH, from 3.1% to 8.8%. In Rochester’s case, a spread-out suburban population commuting to the urban core for services and activities could keep traffic levels steady, even as some workers shift to remote work.
However, Worcester, MA faced the opposite challenge, with congestion increasing by 60% - the highest in the region. Massachusetts, overall, saw a slight decrease in traffic volume, but Worcester’s lower WFH adoption—growing from 6.9% to 9.4%—wasn’t enough to prevent congestion from rising. The city’s reliance on in-person industries, particularly education and healthcare, likely contributed to the growing pressures on its roads.
In nearby Boston, MA, congestion similarly rose by 58%, making it one of the most congested cities in the region. Although Boston saw WFH rates grow more than threefold - from 4.1% to 17.7%, the highest in the Northeast, the overall effect of telecommuting wasn’t enough to counterbalance the city’s rising road usage and decline in public transit ridership.
Midwest Sees Traffic Relief in Detroit While Chicago Faces Growing Congestion
The Midwest experienced significant variations in congestion patterns, with cities like Detroit and Omaha benefitting from telecommuting, while others, like Chicago and Milwaukee, saw congestion increase despite WFH growth.
Omaha, NE, saw the most dramatic improvement in the region, with congestion decreasing by an impressive 29%, despite Nebraska’s 1% rise in state traffic volume. WFH rates in Omaha increased by 176%, particularly in sectors like finance and education, allowing the city to manage its growing traffic demands more effectively.
In Detroit, MI, congestion dropped by 19% between 2019 and 2023, as Michigan’s state traffic volume decreased by 2%. The WFH rate in Detroit surged from 3.5% to 10.7%, helping the city reduce traffic pressures. The auto industry’s adoption of hybrid and remote work models contributed significantly to this improvement, allowing Detroit to avoid the congestion increases seen in other industrial cities.
St. Louis Traffic Holds Steady Despite WFH, as Milwaukee and Chicago Tackle Congestion
In St. Louis, MO, congestion remained unchanged at 14% between 2019 and 2023, even though the city saw a dramatic 262% increase in remote work, with WFH adoption rising from 3.9% to 14.1%. Despite this significant shift toward telecommuting, traffic congestion did not improve, likely due to other factors like population growth or increased road usage outside of traditional commuting hours. Additionally, Missouri’s state traffic volume rose by 7%, which could have contributed to maintaining the steady congestion levels.
By contrast, Milwaukee, WI, saw the highest congestion increase in the area - 38%, as WFH adoption grew from 3.6% to 12.6%. While Wisconsin saw only a modest increase in state traffic volume, Milwaukee’s economy, which includes a significant industrial base, faced rising road use, particularly as freight traffic continued to grow.
Similarly, Chicago, IL, faced a 36% increase in congestion, despite a 6% decrease in Illinois’ state traffic volume. Chicago’s WFH rate increased significantly, from 6.2% to 17.4%, but the city’s role as a major logistics hub meant that freight and delivery traffic remained high, limiting the benefits of telecommuting. Declining public transit ridership also contributed to the worsening traffic congestion.
Check out the data on all the 83 cities analyzed in the table below:
Methodology
To compile this report, we utilized traffic congestion data from TomTom, remote work data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and traffic volume data from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
- The traffic congestion data was sourced from TomTom, which tracks real-time and historical congestion levels across cities. For this analysis, we focused on U.S. cities, comparing congestion levels from 2019 to 2023, measured as the percentage of extra travel time in traffic compared to free-flow conditions.
- Remote work levels were gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). This provided insights into the percentage of workers who worked primarily from home in both 2019 and 2023, allowing us to identify shifts in telecommuting patterns.
- Traffic volume data was sourced from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), providing state-level insights into vehicle usage trends.
- We analyzed more than 83 cities across the U.S., selected based on the availability of data and their economic and geographic diversity.
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