Placer.ai Office Index—August 2024 Recap

In August, office visits nationwide were 68.8 percent of August 2019 levels—slightly below the post-pandemic office visit recovery level seen in July. 

Also in August, Miami, New York, Atlanta, and Dallas outperformed the nationwide baseline for year-over-five-year office recovery, while Los Angeles and San Francisco lagged behind. Year-over-year, Atlanta saw the most impressive office visit growth (7.3 percent).

A Regional Snapshot

Drilling down into the data for major urban hubs throughout the country shows a continuation of recent trends, with Miami, New York, Atlanta and Dallas outperforming the nationwide baseline. In Miami and New York, office visits were nearly 90.0 percent and 85.0 percent, respectively, of what they were pre-pandemic. And Atlanta, where employers have begun enforcing stricter in-office policies, held onto its high ranking, with visits 75.6 percent of what they were in August 2019.

Indeed, Atlanta, which has seen a surge in office leasing activity according to Bisnow, saw 7.3 percent year-over-year visit growth in August 2024, followed by Miami (5.7 percent). San Francisco—which despite lagging behind other cities compared to pre-pandemic, has been making steady annual gains—came in third with a year-over-year visit increase of 3.0 percent. 

With the school year underway and summer vacations already a not-so-distant memory, office foot traffic is likely to resume its upward trajectory. Will September 2024 set a new post-pandemic RTO record?

Follow Placer.ai’s data driven analyses to find out. This blog includes data from Placer.ai Data Version 2.1, which introduces a new dynamic model that stabilizes daily fluctuations in the panel, improving accuracy and alignment with external ground truth sources.