When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020, it turned out that our lives are full of tasks that can be adapted to a remote format — fitness classes, school lessons and even doctor visits — and, most importantly, the working day.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2020 showed that 71% of people who could do their work remotely worked remotely. However, lower-income workers are less likely to do this, regardless of their job responsibilities.
Geographical location also mattered: according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center, cities were more likely to have remote jobs, but many rural areas also sought to attract workers who could now work from anywhere.
The shift to remote work did not stop completely after the offices reopened for work: according to another Pew Research Center survey, 59% of respondents still worked remotely in 2022.
ClickUp used Census Bureau data from the 2021 American Community Survey to rank counties in Illinois with the highest percentage of people working from home at least part of the time.
Of course, the reason why many workers choose remote work in 2023 is different from what it was in March 2020. In the same Pew Research Center 2022 survey, respondents said that working from home made their personal life, work, and meeting deadlines easier.
In addition, a 2022 survey conducted by McKinsey & Company showed that 87% of the surveyed professionals who had the opportunity to work from home took advantage of it. Flexible working hours were even named the third most important motivator for finding a new job.
Nearly 18% of Americans who took part in the Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community survey said they had worked from home for at least some time during the previous week. That’s 27.6 million people — about three times as many as the 9 million who said they worked from home in 2019.
Of course, the number of remote workers varies from state to state: almost half of the D.C. specialists worked remotely in 2021, while almost a quarter of workers in Washington, Maryland, Colorado and Massachusetts also worked from home.
As for Illinois, the 2021 American Community Survey estimates were only available for 19 of the 102 counties statewide.