Who Works from Home?

Remote work was uncommon prior to the pandemic. But since then, the share of Californians who work from home has increased dramatically, from 6% in 2018–19 to 19% in 2021–22. Most workers consider remote work to be a desirable job benefit and more people would like to work from home than currently do so, according to Public Policy Institute of California surveys. As working conditions continue to shift, the largest group currently working remotely is college-educated parents of young children—but remote work varies considerably by education, income, race/ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics. Education levels play a key role in who is able to work from home. Working Californians with high levels of education are more likely than others to work remotely for all or most of their work week. Much of this difference is driven by the occupations held by these highly educated—and highly paid—workers. Professional and scientific jobs lend themselves to remote work more readily than does manual labor or service sector jobs in areas such as food service or retail.