The rapid expansion of work-from-home (WFH) during the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the decoupling of residence from the workplace and created a natural experiment for examining the link between job and population growth across US cities and regions. This study uses descriptive statistics and spatial autoregression modelling to examine inter-regional shifts and intra-metropolitan redistribution, and the role of WFH in these changes. The results show that long-standing growth trajectories largely persisted: population growth continued in affordable Sunbelt regions and suburban areas, while slowing in several coastal superstar metropolitan areas. Within metropolitan areas, central counties grew more slowly than suburban and smaller counties, regardless of their regional location. Regarding employment, WFH intensity was positively associated with post-pandemic growth at the metropolitan scale. Intra-metropolitan redistribution linked to WFH followed a doughnut-type pattern, with higher remote work intensity associated with relative population losses in large central counties and gains in suburban and smaller counties. Structural factors such as housing affordability, industrial base and demographic composition were more consistently associated with growth than WFH alone. Overall, the findings suggest that remote work reinforced and reconfigured existing spatial patterns rather than overturning national hierarchies.
Azhdari et al. (Wed,) studied this question.