Chicago leads in office return, outpacing national trends

Recent data from a real estate technology firm, Kastle Systems, shows that Chicago’s office return rate has stayed at 53% for the last two weeks. This is the seventh week in a row where we have seen that more than half of Chicago’s workforce has returned to work in person.

These numbers are hinting at a significant shift back to pre-pandemic work environments. Kastle Systems analyzed security card swipes across numerous office buildings in the city. They found that Chicago is maintaining a steady return rate and surpassing the national average by 3.5%.

This upward trend is a positive sign for the city’s economic revival. Businesses and employees are adapting to a new normal, balancing remote and in-office work in ways we’ve never seen before. Chicago’s surpassing the national average in returning to in-person work could serve as a model for other major metropolitan areas during their post-pandemic recovery.