Key Takeaways
- • March 2026 marked the strongest March for office foot traffic since COVID onset, with visits reaching 73.5% of pre-2019 levels; adjusting for calendar differences (22 working days vs. 21 in prior years), underlying per-working-day traffic ran 29.8% below 2019 but showed 6.4% year-over-year growth.
- • West Coast and Sun Belt markets leading recovery momentum: Miami and New York exceeded 90% of pre-COVID office visitation baselines, while regional laggards across major markets except Washington, D.C. demonstrated substantive year-over-year gains as return-to-office mandates take hold.
- • RTO policies driving sustained momentum despite weather disruptions: January 2026 data showed office visits 38.3% below January 2019 levels, but on a per-working-day basis January 2026 represented the busiest in-office January since the pandemic, demonstrating resilience even as Winter Storm Fern disrupted commutes nationwide.
- • Placer.ai's Nationwide Office Building Index tracks 1,300+ top-tier office properties, analyzing foot traffic patterns across commercial office buildings to measure real-time return-to-office progress and regional market dynamics.
Summary
The office recovery narrative has shifted decisively into forward momentum heading into spring 2026, according to Placer.ai's proprietary foot traffic data spanning approximately 1,300 top-tier office buildings nationwide. March 2026 delivered the busiest March for office visitation since the onset of COVID, with total traffic reaching 73.5% of pre-2019 levels. While part of this strength was calendar-driven—March 2026 included 22 working days compared to 21 in both 2019 and 2025—the underlying trend remained firmly positive. When adjusted for this calendar variance, average visits per working day ran 29.8% below 2019 baselines but climbed 6.4% year-over-year, indicating genuine and continuing momentum in the market as corporate return-to-office policies take root.
Regional performance highlights a two-tiered recovery pattern. Miami and New York have emerged as the clear leaders, with office visits exceeding 90% of pre-COVID baselines—effectively approaching full recovery. Across all other major markets, substantive year-over-year gains were observed, with the notable exception of Washington, D.C., where calendar-adjusted data revealed a 3.4% year-over-year visit decline, potentially attributable to a mid-month severe storm event that disrupted commuting patterns in a region less accustomed to such weather disruptions.
The resilience of the office recovery was further underscored by January 2026 data, which captured a period when new return-to-office mandates coincided with Winter Storm Fern's disruption of travel and commutes across large swaths of the country. Despite these headwinds, office visits declined only modestly to 38.3% below January 2019 levels—a marginal improvement over January 2025. More tellingly, on a per-working-day basis, January 2026 marked the busiest in-office January since the pandemic, signaling that underlying return-to-office trajectory remains robust even amid widespread weather-related disruptions. The data suggests that tightening workplace policies are translating into sustained behavioral shifts among white-collar workers, offsetting seasonal and meteorological obstacles to commuting.
Regional performance highlights a two-tiered recovery pattern. Miami and New York have emerged as the clear leaders, with office visits exceeding 90% of pre-COVID baselines—effectively approaching full recovery. Across all other major markets, substantive year-over-year gains were observed, with the notable exception of Washington, D.C., where calendar-adjusted data revealed a 3.4% year-over-year visit decline, potentially attributable to a mid-month severe storm event that disrupted commuting patterns in a region less accustomed to such weather disruptions.
The resilience of the office recovery was further underscored by January 2026 data, which captured a period when new return-to-office mandates coincided with Winter Storm Fern's disruption of travel and commutes across large swaths of the country. Despite these headwinds, office visits declined only modestly to 38.3% below January 2019 levels—a marginal improvement over January 2025. More tellingly, on a per-working-day basis, January 2026 marked the busiest in-office January since the pandemic, signaling that underlying return-to-office trajectory remains robust even amid widespread weather-related disruptions. The data suggests that tightening workplace policies are translating into sustained behavioral shifts among white-collar workers, offsetting seasonal and meteorological obstacles to commuting.
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