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2mo ago

NYC Tops Pre-Pandemic Office Visits as San Francisco Posts Largest Yearly Uptick

Recovery in U.S. downtowns reflects unbalanced sector mandates, local policy shifts, diverging data metrics, lingering post-COVID deficits, evolving commuter patterns.

Image
Socially-distanced office desks are seen at the Fast office in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, in 2021.
A solitary pedestrian crosses San Francisco's Battery Street, during a weekday in August of 2020, during the pandemic. The area would have previously been packed with people.
Office workers walk through the intersection of Montgomery and Sutter streets on the way to their jobs in the Financial District in San Francisco, in 2017. Office attendance dipped during the pandemic, but recent data suggests a surge in workers in the office.

Overview

  • Placer.ai’s July Office Index shows New York City office visits at 1.3% above July 2019 levels, making it the first major metro to exceed pre-pandemic traffic.
  • San Francisco led year-over-year gains with a 21.6% increase in July visits, but its foot traffic remains about 34.2% below its July 2019 baseline, narrowly ahead of Los Angeles and Denver.
  • Nationwide office attendance stayed roughly 21.8% below July 2019 figures, underlining that most U.S. markets have yet to achieve full recovery.
  • Kastle Systems data reports New York metro peak-day occupancy at approximately 66% and weekly averages below 55%, highlighting differences in measurement approaches.
  • Return-to-office pushes by finance and AI employers and local measures, including San Francisco’s four-day city-worker policy beginning August 18, are cited as key drivers of recent foot traffic gains.