- Travis County had the highest share of remote workers among large Texas counties in 2024, with over a quarter of workers working from home.
- The remote-work trend extended beyond Travis County, with Williamson County and Hays County also experiencing significant increases in the percentage of workers working from home.
- The technology industry in Texas, particularly software developers, played a significant role in the remote-work boom, with a higher percentage of remote workers compared to the national average.
For many Travis County workers, the morning commute is measured in steps instead of miles.
More than a quarter of workers in the county worked from home in 2024, the highest share among large Texas counties and nearly double the statewide rate, according to a new analysis by product comparison website WhatAreTheBest.com.
The study examined U.S. Census Bureau data, looking at workers age 16 and older who reported that they usually work from home during the week. The analysis covered 756 large counties and county equivalents nationwide, including 40 in Texas.
About 25.4% of Travis County workers usually worked from home, up sharply from 11.1% in 2019, before the pandemic. The figure puts Travis County at No. 11 among large counties nationwide.
Austin’s remote-work footprint stretches beyond Travis County, too. Williamson County ranked third in Texas with 22.3% of workers at home in 2024, up from 10.8% in 2019. Hays County ranked sixth at 18.8%, more than double its pre-pandemic share of 8.5%.
Statewide, 12.9% of Texans worked from home in 2024 compared with 5.7% in 2019. That falls slightly below the national rate of 13.3% and places Texas in a tie for 19th nationally.
“Working from home in certain industries has become the norm; some prefer it, some don’t, and the experience of it can all be down to what your job entails,” said Albert Richer, founder of WhatAreTheBest.com. “Some industries have also seen big return-to-office orders in the last few years, with it sometimes being an attempt to bring a previous office environment back, and for some, they can’t imagine going back to the office at all.”
The Lone Star State’s technology workforce could be a major factor in the remote-work boom. About 46.2% of software developers in Texas worked from home in 2024, according to the analysis, compared with 42.2% nationally.
Every Texas county included in the study had a higher remote-work share in 2024 than in 2019, including Jefferson County, home to Beaumont, which ranked last in Texas at 4.1% in 2024.
This article originally published at Travis County leads Texas in remote work as 1 in 4 workers stay home.
