"Work and commuting are central to American life, so the widespread adoption of working from home is a defining feature of the COVID-19 pandemic," Michael Burrows, statistician in the Census Bureau’s Journey-to-Work and Migration Statistics Branch, said on Thursday. "With the number of people who primarily work from home tripling over just a two-year period, the pandemic has very strongly impacted the commuting landscape in the United States."
In 2019, about 6% of workers living in metropolitan areas (metros) worked from home, compared to 5% living outside of them, a release on the survey said.
The percentage of people working from home in the metro areas increased in 2021 to roughly 19% compared to the 9% of home-based workers outside of them, the release said.
The percentage of workers who worked within their county of residence increased from 72.2% in 2019 to 76.5% in 2021, the release added.
The nearly half (48.3%) of workers in Washington who worked from home last year represent the highest percentage of home-based workers in the United States. Meanwhile, commuting decreased, according to the release.