In our most recent study, we joined the large pool of a hotly debated topic – the migration from urban to suburban areas. But we added a coworking twist to it, with data to back it up. Thus, we determined which American suburbs best catered to the work needs of their residents by boasting the most coworking spaces. To determine the best coworking suburbs, we leveraged proprietary data to pinpoint the suburbs that log at least 10 coworking spaces each and we determined that there are 37 ones across the country that meet this requirement. Meanwhile, at the metro level, we focused on the ones that have at least one such suburb.
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Here are some of the main points for of interest for Metro Phoenix:
• The Phoenix metro area registered two suburban areas that logged at least 10 coworking spaces each. Scottsdale was home to 22 shared workspaces, followed by Mesa with 12 coworking spaces;
• The Phoenix metro stood out as one of the exceptions, with more coworking spaces in the suburbs than in the main city – a gap of 22 more coworking spaces belonging to its suburbia;
• At the metro level, Los Angeles checks the highest number of suburbs with no less than 10 coworking spaces each — eight suburban areas with a total of more than 190 flex workspaces;
• Nationally, almost half (44%) of all coworking spaces can be found in the suburbs, with Irvine, CA, being the U.S. leading suburb, with 91 shared workspaces.
Historically, the picket-fence lifestyle has always been the epitome of the American dream — and, during times when remote work has become more widely available and Millennials have settled down to raise families, larger and more affordable spaces on a cul-de-sac make perfect sense.
Notably, the shift from larger, urban areas toward suburban and rural ones that took off in 2020 actually reached its peak the following year: the Economic Innovation Group reported that a significant 68% of urban counties decreased in population in 2021, which accounted for a remarkably large share by historical standards.
But, with work and personal lives so intertwined (especially during the pandemic years), it was expected that jobs would hit closer to home — literally. As such, suburbs have welcomed not only standalone businesses, but also flexible workspaces among their cores.
With this in mind, we set out to determine exactly which American suburbs best catered to the work needs of their residents by boasting the most coworking spaces. Specifically, we leveraged proprietary data to pinpoint the suburbs that log at least 10 coworking spaces each and we determined that there are 37 ones across the country that meet this requirement. Meanwhile, at the metro level, we focused on the ones that have at least three such suburbs.
Currently, 44% of the total national number of coworking spaces belong to the suburbs. While the remaining 56% is concentrated in bustling urban cores, the popularity of flex spaces surrounded by picket fences stands out as a clear sign of a healthy demand coming from suburban residents, as well as operators’ willingness to bet on more than just centrally located business districts and busy downtowns.
Methodology
• For the purpose of our study, a suburb was considered to be a place located within a large metro area. Within each metropolitan location, we singled out the largest city and considered the remaining ones as suburbs. No population filter was used.
• We counted each individual coworking space once for each address/operator in our database.
• To determine the top 37 leading suburbs, we sorted through more than 900 suburban locations with at least one coworking space each and focused on those that had at least 10 coworking spaces per suburb.
