The Twin Cities’ Comparatively High Return-to-Office Rate Linked to Shorter Average Commute

By Chris Hudson | June 2, 2022

Illustration by @drawnwell

DESIGN DATA

A recent analysis by The Wall Street Journal of data from the U.S. Census Bureau and building-access company Kastle Systems highlighted a correlation between return-to-office rates and average commute times in 24 major metropolitan areas across the U.S. Eight of the 10 markets with the most significant drops in office occupancy had average one-way commutes of more than a half-hour, while six of the 10 metro areas with the smallest declines had one-way commutes of less than a half-hour.

In the findings, the Twin Cities metro boasted the third shortest commute (just over 26 minutes) and the highest office occupancy (63.4 percent) as a share of pre-pandemic levels. The Minneapolis Downtown Council puts current building occupancy in downtown Minneapolis at 56.2 percent.

For a deeper dive into downtown Minneapolis’s current conditions and future prospects, check out “The Future of Downtowns” in the 2022 ENTER print annual. The Design Data department highlights a compelling data nugget or survey finding related to the built environment.