In less than a decade, work as we know it has shifted from a rigid, commute-based routine to a far more fluid model. Coworking has evolved in step with this transformation, reflecting broader shifts in workforce migration, employment patterns, and local economic growth.
In this study, we explore the top 20 U.S. cities where these forces have had the greatest impact between 2020 and 2023. Specifically, we analyzed cities that saw notable increases in their working-age population, employment rate, share of remote workers, along with working-age population inflows. Then, we assessed how coworking markets evolved in these cities in the years that followed (2023-2025).
Key Findings:
- The coworking market across the U.S. grew by 23%, fueled by the steady increase in remote workers and renewed economic stability.
- Boston, MA led in remote work adoption, which, along with employment growth, encouraged a 34% expansion in coworking spaces.
- Madison, WI recorded the highest influx of working-age residents in 2023, contributing to a 20% rise in coworking inventory.
- Miami, FL’s mature coworking market grew by just 1%, despite the city’s leading employment growth.
- Irvine, CA ranks among the top cities with a 14% growth in labor supply — a rise that fueled the 8% expansion in the local coworking industry between 2023 and 2025.
Zooming in, a handful of clear patterns emerge. Some cities are just beginning their coworking boom, powered by rapid population and labor force growth. Others are continuing to add significant new stock to their already robust inventories. Meanwhile, mature hubs are seeing slower expansion as established markets adjust to new patterns of demand and saturation.
The Expansion Era: Vigorous Growth — From Emerging Hotspots to Maturing Markets
Some cities simply have momentum written all over them. The local economies of these are typically strong with remote work continuing to expand. This brings two distinct patterns to light. On one hand, emerging coworking hubs that are just gaining serious altitude, such as Gilbert, Chandler, Newark, Richmond, and Buffalo. Meanwhile, established markets like Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Orlando, Seattle, and Columbus continue to strengthen their already robust coworking ecosystems by adding more flexible workspaces.
Momentum-Builders: Emerging Hotspots Where Coworking is Just Gaining Altitude
Gilbert, AZ leads the way with the biggest two-year development wave after adding eight coworking spaces to the five it already had in 2023. The city continues to be a magnet for operators eager to capture surging demand driven by the vigorous labor force growth (and to capitalize on the talent pool of the wider Phoenix area). The share of remote workers also more than doubled, going from a little more than 15,000 in 2020 to almost 33,000 in 2023. This surge reflects the city’s booming and diverse economy, which ultimately fueled an 9% workforce growth — the second-highest among the cities analyzed.
Chandler mirrors much of neighboring Gilbert’s success, posting the second-highest coworking growth in the top, with nine new spaces added in just two years. Here again, Chandler’s appeal lies in its expanding workforce; a growing remote employee base that has more than doubled to roughly 34,000; and strong corporate anchors, such as Wells Fargo and PayPal. Combined with an 8% rise in the local workforce (among the highest nationwide), Chandler continues to benefit from the same economic and demographic trends that are driving Gilbert’s coworking boom.
Newark nearly doubled its coworking inventory to keep up with the growing demand, reaching 13 spaces by 2025. Driven by a 126% increase in remote workers — from more than 3,000 in 2020 to close to 8,000 in 2023 — the city’s coworking market remains well-positioned for continued development. At the same time, an 8% workforce expansion, steady population growth and the city’s affordability (especially given its proximity to New York City) continue to attract new professionals.
Richmond saw a surge in coworking activity as the number of remote employees more than doubled, driven by the city’s robust corporate landscape. Supported by over 20,000 teleworkers, the local coworking scene now boasts 16 coworking offices, which is an increase of five spaces in just two years. Here, investments from big employers like Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. facilitated the local economic expansion, opening up job opportunities and fueling the 2% rise in employment.
After the number of telecommuters nearly tripled from just over 4,000 to nearly 11,500, Buffalo’s coworking market started gaining traction, consequently adding five spaces to the existing nine. And, with companies like Odoo and M&T Bank scaling up in Buffalo, the local tech scene is generating more employment opportunities. This, together with the city’s expanding labor pool and rising remote workforce, points to flexible workspaces becoming a key component for an expanding office-based workforce.
Established Markets: Mature Coworking Hubs That Continued to Scale
Orlando’s coworking scene kept expanding, adding 17 flexible workspaces to an already solid foundation. While the city is meeting remote workers’ need for coworking spaces, the emerging office and tech industries in the area open the door for further development. At the same time, the rising numbers of telecommuters also fuel the need for shared office spaces. Thus, following an almost 116% increase, a little more than 25,000 telecommuters are now established in Orlando.
Charlotte’s coworking market expanded by 22 new spaces from an already strong 41, yet demand for flexible offices remains robust. Notably, the city’s large remote workforce — now accounting for more than one-quarter of workers after a nearly threefold increase — has helped sustain this momentum. Alongside the coworking industry, Charlotte’s economy is also seeing some steady gains: The labor supply went up 1%, and employment rates also rose to 69%.
Boston’s market gained 16 coworking spaces, supported by a more than threefold increase in telecommuters. Now, remote workers make up nearly 19% of the city’s labor force, highlighting steady demand for flexible offices. Similarly, Boston’s economy is also gaining momentum, backed by a 1.2% rise in employment; a strong talent pool; and corporate investments from Hasbro, Amazon and Lego. These factors are helping drive growth in both the coworking market and the city’s key industries.
Fueled by a booming tech sector and a spike in telecommuting, Austin met the rising demand for flexible workspaces by adding 19 coworking spaces to the existing 58. Accordingly, the city’s total of 77 flex offices provides a range of options for the local pool of remote and hybrid workers, which expanded considerably from nearly 74,000 to close to 157,000. With both employment and workforce growing — and giant employers like Samsung, SpaceX and Apple expanding in the area — things are looking even better for the coworking market.
Durham’s coworking inventory expanded by five locations, reflecting the city’s rising workforce and growing remote work population. At present, Durham’s 21 coworking locations seem sufficient to meet demand. That said, with nearly 32,000 remote workers and the area’s robust economy — bolstered by steady gains in employment and labor supply — the city is well-positioned for coworking to gain more traction.
Despite the twofold increase in telecommuters, Madison’s coworking landscape shows modest growth: The city reached a total of 18 workspaces by 2025 after the coworking market increased by three. It’s worth noting here that Madison saw its pool of working-age residents expand by 29% in 2023. This surge — combined with a developing economy fueled by investments from Exact Sciences, Catalent and Abingdon Health — shows that there’s room for further coworking momentum.
Columbus already had a strong coworking community concentrated downtown, but the nearly 118% rise in remote workers created room for further growth. Besides the surge in telecommuters, the city’s flex office momentum — a seven-space boost between 2023 and 2025 — comes from its firm base in office-reliant industries (namely, finance, insurance and tech), as well as its 0.5% uptick in employment and 1% expansion of the local labor force.
By 2025, Pittsburgh had created a well-established coworking market, adding seven coworking spaces to the existing 36. These expansions helped the city address the needs of a rapidly evolving remote workforce, which almost doubled in size from 2020 to 2023 to reach roughly 32,000 people. As the city continues its path of economic growth, including raking in investments in the local tech ecosystem, the coworking landscape shows potential for slow, yet steady expansion.
In Seattle, coworking activity has been increasing with the city’s large remote workforce helping sustain that momentum. After a 124% growth recorded between 2020 and 2023, Seattle claimed the second-largest share of telecommuters on our list with more than 31% of its labor supply working fully or partially from home. This stems from Seattle’s deep-rooted tech ecosystem, widespread digital infrastructure, and a professional culture that embraces autonomy and hybrid work as part of everyday life.
The second-largest coworking market among the top 20, Denver gained 10 new flexible offices after telecommuter numbers doubled between 2020 and 2023, going from a little more than 49,000 to close to 101,500. Likewise, and reflecting the city’s robust remote work culture, coworking options expanded from 82 spaces to 92. The strong economy, driven by a 1.6% rise in employment and 1% expansion of the workforce, increases the city’s potential for continued growth.
Philadelphia’s coworking market has seen steady gains with the emergence of six workspaces between 2023 and 2025 to bring the total to 57 spaces this year. In this case, the growth was sustained by a 134% jump in telecommuter share, which brought the number of remote workers to more than 118,000. In addition to the number of hybrid professionals, the nearly 2% rise in employment and the city’s investments in tech-focused organizations also sustained Philly’s coworking progress.
Slow Burn: Where Coworking Cooled Despite Thriving Economies
While many U.S. cities are expanding their coworking footprint, some appear to have been better prepared for the remote work wave, already supported by a robust inventory and a well-established flexible work culture. As a result, coworking growth in markets such as Irvine, Miami, and Atlanta has slowed in recent years, with fewer new spaces emerging.
Irvine’s 14% workforce evolution, as well as the surging number of telecommuters, fueled local coworking growth and paved the way for further expansion. Supported by a booming economy, Irvine’s coworking scene expanded 8% after a more than twofold increase in remote workers between 2020 and 2023. With three more flexible spaces, the city now has 39 coworking spots, which have interestingly consolidated around John Wayne Airport and in East Irvine.
With three new additions, Atlanta further strengthens its position as one of the leading coworking hubs in the U.S. with 116 coworking spaces. Here, the city’s broad base of remote professionals surpassed 70,000 by 2023, signifying a twofold increase. This — together with a resilient local economy and investments from major employers, such as Mercedes-Benz, PrizePicks and xAI — continues to sustain a mature and vibrant coworking environment.
Miami added just one coworking space to its inventory, despite having the largest employment increase and nearly 34,000 telecommuters. Although early adoption of coworking produced a mature coworking scene here, it hasn’t expanded as fast as it has in other markets. Nevertheless, Miami is still inching forward to accommodate an increasing share of remote workers. In particular, the thriving local economy with a 3.8% uptick in employment rates and the growing tech sector are setting the stage for further steady increases in the flexible office market.
Washington, D.C. is the only city in the top to experience a drop in coworking, despite having the second-largest increase in telecommuters. Dropping from 83 spaces to 80, the city is showing signs of saturation, especially around downtown and the East End. In this environment, competition between operators is also fierce. Nearly half of the spaces are owned by eight big coworking chains, among which we have Industrious and Carr Workplaces, making Washington a more challenging market for smaller operators. Even so, with more than 29% of the local workforce working partially remotely and major industries remaining office-oriented, conditions are favorable for coworking to regain momentum.
Methodology
To determine the fastest-growing U.S. cities, we considered four metrics related to workforce:
- Employment Share Evolution — 2020–2023: Percentage change in employment levels, reflecting shifts in local job markets and workforce dynamics — 30% weight
- Working-Age Population Evolution — 2020–2023: Percentage change in residents aged 20 to 64, representing population segments with the highest likelihood to engage in coworking — 30% weight
- Working-Age Population Inflow — 2023: Share of working-age population (20-64) that has moved in from outside the city (not accounting for outward migration) — 20% weight
- Telecommuting Evolution Rate — 2020–2023: Percentage change in the share of remote workers, capturing the rise of flexible work models and their influence on coworking — 20% weight
Once we had the fastest-growing cities, we found out how each location’s coworking market developed, according to their coworking inventory growth:
- Coworking Inventory Growth — 2023–2025: Percentage increase in the number of coworking spaces, highlighting areas with the fastest-growing flexible workspace supply.
