Report: Workers are living further from employer, more are living 50 miles from the office

Remote workers are living further from the office according to a new report from researchers at Stanford University and human resources company Gusto.

The report found that the mean distance from employee residence to employer location rose from 10 to 27 miles between 2019 and 2023 and that 5.5% of employees lived over 50 miles away from their employer in 2023.

The report said, "the pro-typical employee who lives far away from his or her employer is a high-earning Millennial working in the Information sector or in Finance & Insurance."

“We’re never going to go back to a five-days-in-the-office policy,” Stephan Meier, professor of business at Columbia University, told USA TODAY in December. “Some employers are going to force people to come back, but I think over the next year, more and more firms will actually figure out how to manage hybrid well.”

Remote work by the numbers

A USA TODAY Blueprint survey found that the percentage of people in each income group that were fully remote went down as earnings went up. 

• Those earning under $50,000 per year: 42% were fully remote.
• Those earning between $125,000 and $200,000 per year: Only 18% were fully remote.
• Those earning over $200,000 per year: Just over 25% don’t work in an office at all.

The survey found that hybrid work is most prevalent for workers making between $75,000 and $100,000.

One-third of hiring managers said that productivity has increased due to remote work settings, according to Upwork’s Future of Remote Work study.

Remote work by state

Colorado has the highest percentage of remote workers at 21% while Mississippi comes in last with 5.5% of workers in the state working from home.

Contributing: Mehdi Punjwani and Sierra Campbell