Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Chase have helped push New York City’s return-to-office rate to almost 80% of its pre-pandemic levels

Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Chase have helped push New York City’s return-to-office rate to almost 80% of its pre-pandemic levels, per BBG.


According to the Nationwide Office Building Index by Placer.ai, RTO rates in 2023 for the two East Coast cities were the highest among seven major US markets and exceeded the national average of about 63%. Placer.ai analyzed foot traffic data from approximately 1,000 office buildings across the country.

Wall Street banks were among the first to aggressively encourage, and then require, employees to return to the office, which contributed to a rebound in weekday foot traffic in Manhattan. Miami's resurgence may have been supported by Florida's early lifting of Covid restrictions and a steady influx of tech companies, Placer.ai noted.

"The analysis suggests that the finance sector has indeed been a key driver of office recovery," the company stated in a report. "Cities with higher concentrations of employees from this sector tended to experience stronger office recovery compared to other urban areas."

Both residents and tourists have returned to the New York subway system, with weekday ridership at around 70% of 2019 levels, up from about 10% during the peak of the pandemic, according to data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Weekend usage is approximately 85% of 2019 levels.

San Francisco experienced the highest growth in office visitation in 2023, but it still lagged behind other major cities, with foot traffic at about 45% of 2019 levels, as per the report.