Security services provider Kastle Systems has drawn on anonymized aggregated building access data from client properties in 10 major cities in order to create a “Back to Work Barometer,” which provides a top-down look at office use activity from the start of the COVID-19 quarantine up through the present day.
From a baseline rate of 96% in early March, building access dropped sharply across the 10 major cities as workers began sheltering in place, with the first decline in occupancy observed in San Francisco in the first week of March. Other cities quickly followed, and by the first week in April occupancy fell to a national average of approximately 18%.
Occupancy rates have varied widely by region, with New York showing the lowest occupancy while Dallas shows the highest. Occupancy in Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami began to rise in late May, while Chicago and Philadelphia have begun their rise more recently. Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles are “leading the nation” in returns to Kastle-secured office spaces, with occupancy rates ranging from 34.7% to 36% as of June 17.
“The question on everyone’s minds right now is when will it be okay to go back to the office,” says Haniel Lynn, CEO of Kastle Systems. “We’re keeping a close eye on trends in occupancy data as part of our KastleSafeSpaces framework, which is designed to help office buildings safely reopen. As the uptick in occupancy continues, Kastle stands ready to help the safe transition happen.”
Across these 10 major cities, the average occupancy rate currently stands at 22.7%. Kastle will be releasing updates to the data on a weekly basis.
