Remote work statistics and trends in 2024

Mehdi Punjwani Sierra Campbell

Sierra Campbell

One of the biggest impressions the COVID-19 pandemic left on the world was the change to the traditional workplace setup. Remote work is becoming commonplace in many industries, and an Upwork study suggests that 22% of the American workforce will be remote by 2025.2 

Our team has conducted an online survey of 1,000 American white-collar workers, with the help of OnePoll, to learn more about remote working trends in the U.S. We also researched an array of statistics and other surveys to gain an understanding of what remote looks like across the country, how Americans feel about their current setup and what the future might hold for remote workers.

Read on for a comprehensive breakdown of remote work statistics and trends in 2024.

Key stats on remote working 

Here’s a summary of the key facts and figures on remote work in the U.S.:

• According to the Pew Research Center, around 22 million employed adults (aged 18 and over) in the U.S. work from home all the time, equal to roughly 14% of all employed adults.4 
• Just over one-third of workers in the U.S. who can work remotely do so all the time — while 41% are at least part-time remote on a hybrid setup.4
• More than one in five Americans will work remotely by 2025.2
• According to a survey we conducted, 58% of white-collar workers prefer to work remotely at least three days a week.
• Only 16% of white-collar workers would consider a role that doesn’t offer any days of remote work.1
• 42% of office workers would take a 10% pay cut to have the flexibility to work remotely.1
• According to Upwork’s Future of Remote Work study, one-third of hiring managers said that productivity has increased due to remote work settings.3

How many people work from home by demographics

With the help of tools like video conferencing and VPN services, those who can work from home often do. However, many still do not have that option. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, three in five American workers do not have jobs that can be carried out remotely.4 

Our survey shows that 33% of our respondents work remotely, and 33% work in a hybrid work environment. However, 36% of respondents would prefer working from home full-time instead of having a hybrid schedule, and 41% of respondents would be willing to consider a full-time, remote position if they were looking for a new position.

Let’s delve into the demographics of remote workers in the U.S.

Our survey of U.S. white-collar workers revealed that 36% of those who have reached, at most, a high school degree or equivalent are fully remote. This is proportionally more than any other group, with master’s degree holders having the lowest percentage of fully remote U.S. workers at 27%.

Those holding doctoral degrees are more likely to have a hybrid role than any other, with 52% of respondents saying they work both in-office and at home — proportionally higher than all other levels of education. Only 27% of those with high school degrees or equivalent work in hybrid models which is the lowest for all groups. 

Our survey also showed that the percentage of people in each income group who were fully remote decreased as earnings increased. 

• Of those earning under $50,000 per year, 42% were fully remote. 
• Of those earning between $125,000 and $200,000 per year, only 18% were fully remote. 
• Of those earning over $200,000 per year, just over 25% were fully remote.

Hybrid work was most prevalent among those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 per year and least prevalent among those earning under $50,000 per year. 43% of people earning between $125,000 and $150,000 were entirely in the office — more than in any other salary group.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Colorado has the highest proportion of remote workers, with 21.2% of people in the state working from home at least some of the time. It is followed closely by:

• Washington at 20.5%. 
• Arizona at 19.2%.
• Oregon at 19%.

On the other side of the scale, Mississippi has the lowest proportion of remote workers, with only 5.5% carrying out work from home. This is just ahead of:

• North Dakota at 7.6%.
• Louisiana at 8.2%. 
• Arkansas at 8.8%.

According to McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey, the industry with the most remote work available is the computer/mathematical field. 89% of employees in this field report being able to work remotely — 52% full-time and 37% part-time. Other industries that report high percentages of remote work include:

• Business/financial operations: 86%; 61% full-time and 25% part-time.
• Architecture/engineering: 82%; 47% full-time and 35% part-time.
• Arts/design/entertainment/sports/media: 80%; 53% full-time and 27% part-time.
• Legal: 76%; 46% full-time and 30% part-time.

When it comes to full-time remote work, business/financial operations (61%) and arts/design/entertainment/sports/media (53%) offer the most options, followed by computer/mathematical (52%) and architecture/engineering (47%).

With regard to part-time remote work, the computer/mathematical field leads the way with 37% of respondents saying it is available to them. This is followed by architecture/engineering (35%) and community/social service (34%).

According to the same report, the industries and occupations with the least amount of remote work available include:

• Protective services: 28%; 22% full-time and 6% part-time.
• Production: 29%; 15% full-time and 14% part-time.
• Food preparation/serving: 29%; 14% full-time and 15% part-time.
• Transportation/moving material: 29%; 20% full-time and 9% part-time. 
• Farming/fishing/forestry: 37%; 17% full-time and 20% part-time.

Overall, the American Opportunity Survey reports that 35% of respondents have access to full-time remote work, while 23% of respondents have access to part-time remote work. This represents a total of 58% of respondents having access to some type of remote work.

Sierra Campbell