Remote Workers = Untethered Movers

Key Highlights

• According to ApartmentList, one in three jobs in US in fields that can be done remotely on permanent basis
• Untethered class of workers represents 8.7M workforce, approximately 5.6% of workforce, according to ApartmentList

ApartmentList Study Identifies Remote Workers as “Untethered” Potential Movers

According to the latest study by ApartmentList, there are some 8.7M people among what it is calling “the untethered class,” or potential remote movers.

Pandemic Inspired Migrations

The pandemic spring-boarded remote working when the world went into “lockdown.”  Many people working remotely migrated from densely packed urban environments to smaller suburbs or towns and/or vacation destinations.  More living space and, often, more affordable space became top priorities.

Who Is Among the “Untethered Class”?

According to ApartmentList, these 8.7M remote workers, some 5.6% of the US workforce, “…are highly educated and high-earning, and with a median age of 32, many are likely on the precipice of settling down.  The untethered class (is) also more likely than the general population to be living in a different state than where they were born, indicating a propensity to relocate.”

Will Working Remotely Last and/or Increase?

It’s too early to say whether or not remote workers will remain “untethered” and fully remote.   Employers may want those workers “back to work” at offices.  It’s also too early to say whether or not remote working will become some sort of hybrid combination of working remotely some of the time and working at the office some of the time.

Some large employers such as Facebook have already indicated that untethered working could be a “forever” option for some workers.  Others, such as Google have doubled- and tripled- down on tethered working by acquiring additional office spaces in the thousands of square footage range around the country.  Then, there are also large employers that are offering the option of remote working with the caveat of that remote workers taking a pay cut, usually 10%.  (Read our post on last week’s calendar titled “Moving to Save.”)

Untethered Workers Concentrated in Priciest Housing Markets

We’ve already seen some of the priciest cities in the country, think San Francisco and New York, take the biggest hits in terms of untethered out-migration.  Below is ApartmentList’slist of the priciest markets with the highest percentages of untethered workers:

Metro                   Remote              Remote        Untethered

Friendly Share    Friendly Rank     Share

San Francisco          42.3%               3                 13.5%

San Jose                 45.8%               1                  13.4%

Austin                     38.8%               4                  10.6%

Los Angeles             31.4%               38                 9.8%

Seattle                    38.7%               5                   9.8%

Washington DC        42.5%               2                    9.2%

New York City          33.1%               21                  9.2%

Boston                    37.8%               7                    8.6%

Denver CO              37.7%                8                    8.2%

San Diego               32.6%                23                  7.8%

Future Untethered Implications for Housing Markets

We’re already seeing the beginnings of remote workers returning to superstar cities…sometimes as full-time residences and sometimes as second-home residences, now downsized.

And we’re also seeing untethered workers going even farther afield from superstar cities…sometimes moving to places such as the Philippines to take advantage of more space AND more favorable tax conditions.  Again, it’s too soon to tell.

ApartmentList’s study noted, “While such a trend (out-migration from urban centers) would be unlikely to lead to the demise of superstar cities, it (untethered out-migration) has significant potential to reshape the markets that the untethered class moves to.”

Thanks to US Census, ApartmentList and REALTOR Magazine.

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