Coworking Statistics, Surveys, Research Papers and Studies (Global, Regional & National)

A central repository of coworking statistics, surveys, research paper and studies from around the world. It is organized with the two main global surveys on top, followed by national surveys, then those of coworking spaces themselves and of other related business, and then academic research on coworking.

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Table of Contents

Global Coworking Survey

2019

Covid-19 Impact Report

Highlights:

  1. 57% drop in occupancy.
  2. 10% of spaces lost all employees.
  3. Close to half of the operators under lease have renegotiated it.

How Profitable Are Coworking Spaces in 2019? (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. 90% of coworking spaces generate a profit if they meet at least four conditions: they have more than 200 members, are older than one year, are profit-oriented and do not subsidize their operation through other businesses.
  2. 43% of all coworking spaces generate a direct profit from their operation.
  3. 83% are for-profit businesses, and 12% operate as non-profit companies.

2019 State of Coworking (PDF) Background information about the survey

Highlights:

  1. Coworking spaces worldwide growth of close to 20% in the last year.
  2. Average number of members per location increased to 90.
  3. 11% of coworking spaces host 300 people or more.

2018

Coworking in Europe 2018 (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. Only 4 out of 5 members use coworking spacesfor their regular work, although this figure is slightly higher inlarge cities. Smaller towns, members are more likely to come totheir coworking space for meetings and events or use it as a basefor local errands and activities.
  2. On average, when coworking members in theeurozone work from their coworking space, they spend 10 euros perday in the surrounding area. Considering 100 members per day whowork 240 days a year (excluding weekends and holidays), a coworkingspace would contribute 240,000 euros a year to the local economy.
  3. Almost 80% of all members decided to work ina particular coworking space themselves. This probability increasesdepending on how big the city is where they work. The bigger thecity, the more members are working as employees.

Rare Perspectives on Coworking Space Members and Their Spaces GCUC CANADA 2018 (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. Purpose driven organization are the most popular local partner for coworking spaces
  2. 30% of coworking members are extroverted, 47% are ambiverts and 22% are introverted
  3. Introverted members prefer the social atmosphere of coworking more than any other group
  4. Every sixth member of a coworking space considers themself a digital nomad
  5. Digital nomads feel almost as attached to their current coworking space as all members

Operators & Staff Members: The People Behind Coworking Spaces (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. Nine out of ten women, who have set up orcurrently own a coworking space, have at least a bachelorsdegree. This figure stands at eight out of ten for men, although theaverage age of 41 years is the same regardless of gender.Conversely, 20% of men founded a coworking space without studying orcompleting their studies.
  2. Profitable coworking spaces are much morelikely to be run by a woman than a man. The proportion of men inmanaging positions increases at unprofitable coworking spaces.
  3. Among employed space managers, men are morelikely to have a higher level of education. However, at the age of36, they are on average two years older than women holding the sameposition. 40% of employed female execs are younger than 30. Thisshare stands at 27% among men.

Quick Facts about the UK’s Coworking Spaces (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. The average lease is longer among coworkingspaces. More than 40% of offices lease their location for at least10 years. This result is also notably impacted by large locations.
  2. 42% of coworking spaces are run by a companythat operates at least two locations. This group mostly overlapswith those who have longer leases.
  3. 27% of spaces in the UK are less than a yearold.

Coworking for Introverts & Extroverts (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. The proportion of extroverted personalitiesamong female members is almost as high as the total number of thosewith mixed personalities. Men position themselves predominantly inthe middle. However, more extroverted than introverted male memberswork at coworking spaces.
  2. Introverted members - are more likely toenjoy relaxed and small spaces. More introverted members oftenspeak with around 3 other coworking members per working day, aroundhalf as many than more extroverted members.
  3. Majority of introverted members decided ontheir own accord to work in a coworking space. They are evenmore likely to pay for it out of their own pockets. More than amongother personality types, the main membership attraction is thesocial atmosphere in a coworking space.

The State of Coworking Spaces in 2018 (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. Theaverage occupancy has increased slightly to 1.2 members per desk.For these figures, there are now 12 square meters (130 ft²)available per member, a little less than the previous year.
  2. Aquarter of coworking spaces are without private offices. This is ahuge drop, as the figure was almost 40% of all coworking spaces inthe previous year.
  3. Rentcontinues to be the biggest expense for coworking spaces, accountingfor around 40% of their spending.

2018 Coworking Forecast (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. Aroundtwo out of three coworking spaces are planning to expand in 2018,slightly fewer than last year. Onaverage, everycoworking space is planning to expand their area by 70%.
  2. Membersare becoming a bit more loyal. Three quarters of them arentplanning on leaving their coworking space or will stay for at leastone more year - slightly more than in the last survey, albeitfewer than in the years before that.
  3. Accordingto responses received from operators, gaining new members remainsthe biggest challenge for coworking spaces. Another problem listedby operators is the general workload (31%).

The State of Coworking Spaces in Asia (slides)

Highlights:

  1. Theaverage margin rate of profitable coworking spaces in Asia iscurrently around 9%, which is lower than the global average of 12%.However, they are one year younger on average and have started theiroperations 23 months ago - the global average age is 34 months.
  2. Theplanning, construction and opening of coworking spaces done fasterin Asia (4.2 instead of 7.2 months) than in other places. Almost aquarter of all coworking spaces owns their location. Only around 60%are renting their spaces, globally this number is around 70%.
  3. Theaverage coworking space in Asia has 205 members, more than on anyother continent.

Impact of WeWork On Other Coworking Spaces (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. WeWork is harming 40% of all coworkingspaces in its close vicinity. Among the coworking spaces based indirect vicinity, within 1 km of the WeWork locations, 40% statedthat the presence of WeWork negatively affected their business andthat clearly outnumbers the positive ones (26%).
  2. Second, the more profitable a coworkingspace is, the more positively they view the influence of WeWork -although at least older coworking spaces often feel more threatened.
  3. Older coworking spaces and those that haveother locations themselves often feel more threatened by WeWork.

Opening Coworking Spaces & The First Year Post-Launch (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. Significantly more coworking space operatorsare afraid of high renovation costs for their new location - withroughly 80% this number is almost as high as in the previous years.
  2. Founders are still investing a very largeportion of their private assets into new coworking spaces. Onaverage, this is 44% of the overall capital investments - slightlylower than in the previous year. On the other hand, the shares thatfriends or family contribute increased to an average of 17%.
  3. In the US, the average* cost of creating anew coworking space is US$ 450,000, however the median valuerecently decreased to only US$ 30,000.

Global Coworking Survey 2018 Publications

2017

The Members: How, When & Why Do They Work in Coworking Spaces? (slides)

Highlights:

  1. Januaryand September are the peak season for new members. People join inJanuary to make up for the amount of reduced working hoursthroughout Christmas. Every year, December is the month withthe lowest number of new memberships around the world.
  2. Almost half of all members worked in a homeoffice (45%) before switching to a coworking space.
  3. A social atmosphere (59%), interaction withother members (56%) and a strong community (55%) are still the mostimportant deciding factors for coworking spaces. They are followedby the proximity to the members homes (51%), good value formoney, good transport link (each 41%) as well as a basic officeinfrastructure (38%).

The Members: Who Works in Coworking Spaces (slides)

Highlights:

  1. Freelancers are predominantly working insmaller coworking spaces. As coworking spaces grow bigger, theyusually provide offices for companies or private persons. For thisreason, the (relative) ratio of freelancers has been decliningcontinuously over the last few years. For spaces with 100 or moreworkstations, it is currently only around 30%.
  2. IT, PR & sales are the dominatingindustries for coworkers. Members in IT jobs are still the biggestgroup and were able to slightly increase their ratio compared to theprevious year (20% to 22%). More often than before, you will nowalso find professionals who work in PR, marketing & sales incoworking spaces (8% to 14%). The relative share of consultants onthe other hand has dropped significantly (11% to 6%).
  3. Members are highly educated. The high levelof education remains a characteristic feature among members ofcoworking spaces. Around 85% of them have finished an academiceducation. 41% currently hold a bachelors, another 41% have amasters and 4% have already received their doctorate. All ofthese numbers are similar to those of the previous year.

2017 Coworking Forecast from the Global Coworking Survey (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. Simultaneous occupancy rates in coworkingspaces remain stable. Even though more and more people are workingin coworking spaces, if you look around, it is unlikely youllnotice the increase. Many members work at different times. Around40% use a coworking space at least every work day, and 30% show upthree to four times a week. During an average week, members come alittle less often than before.
  2. Slightly more coworking spaces plan toexpand, particularly by opening new locations.In 2017, two out of three coworking spaces intend to expandtheir floor space, a little more than in the previous year. Nearly40% plan at least one new location, also slightly more than in theprevious year.
  3. Coworking spaces were predominantly made upof new members, who first worked in a coworking space within theprevious 12 months, still make up the majority (56%, versus 57% inthe previous year).

First results of the Global Coworking Survey (PDF)

2015-2016

Canada Coworking Stats 2016 (pdf)

USA Coworking Stats 2016

2016 Forecast and results (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. As reported by members, four out of five ofthem plan to stay where they are for the next year. Two-thirds ofmembers havent even considered leaving, a slight increasecompared to the last survey. New data shows an increase in thenumber of members who work at multiple spaces (15% of 2016respondents vs. 9% of respondents in 2013), a response most likelybe linked to an overall increase of members who travel or identifythemselves as digital nomads.
  2. In the previous year, several well-knowncoworking spaces such as New Work City closed due to expiring leasesthat resulted in sharp increases in renewal rates. Approximately onein eight coworking spaces will face having to renew and/orrenegotiate their lease this year.
  3. The overall positive expectations providedby space owners are still quite high, but have shown signs ofleveling off when comparing 2016 to 2014 results. 87% of respondentsreport expectations of growing membership while 82% anticipateincreased revenue. The slight decrease of five percentage points mayspeak to the fact that more respondents have been in business for alonger time.

Global vs Asian Results

Preliminary results

2014

The coworking forecast 2014 (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. When we last took our survey, 80% ofcoworking professionals were still at their first coworking space;this time around, that number dropped to just under 70%. More peoplewere also likely to return to their first coworking spaces.
  1. Two years ago, only every second personfirst joining a badly rated coworking space chose to move on withina year. In 2014, that average rises dramatically, with every nineout of ten professionals opting to leave their workspaces withintwelve months. The ever-widening selection of coworking spaces givesprofessionals greater mobility and choice. On the other hand, highlyrated coworking spaces are managing to hold on to more than a thirdof their members from one year to the next.
  1. Like last year, coworking spaces are takingclear steps to expand their offerings. 60% are planning extensions(in the previous year: 65%), but only one in five expect to expandupon existing locations (last year: 29%). New branches of existingspaces remained constant from last year, with every third coworkingspace planning to open additional locations. Approximately one ineleven are considering moving into larger workspaces.

4.5 New Coworking Spaces Per Work Day

Highlights:

  1. In the last twelve months, three newcoworking spaces opened daily. Only taking the workdays intoconsideration, there was an average of 4.5 new spaces opening perday, offering workspaces for creative people in more than 81different countries.
  2. It was observed that work spaces had becomelarger. There was an increase in the number of members of about 117%in the last 12 months, which is even more than a year ago! Overall,about 109,000 people worked as members of coworking spaces, as ofFebruary 1st, which was compared to the 50,000 observed in theprevious year on the same day. By the end of February 2013, therewere already 4,000 more members working in collaborative workspaces.
  3. Most coworking spaces are still in theUnited States (781), which remains ahead of Germany (230), Spain(199), Great Britain (154) and Japan (129). By continent, theEuropean numbers continue to grow more steadily compared to NorthAmericans. Yet, one must consider that there are also more peopleliving in Europe when compared to the U.S. and Canada.

2013

The coworking forecast 2013

Highlights:

  1. Two thirds of the coworking spaces plan toexpand - like last year. Expansion plans for coworking spaces, atfirst glance, appear to be similar to those from the previous year.In total, two-thirds of coworking spaces plan to expand within theirexisting spaces, by moving to a bigger location or by opening (a)new location(s).
  2. Big coworking spaces will open new locationsmore often. According to their size, the results have changedmore drastically, when compared to last year. 53% of all largecoworking spaces (with 30 members or more) consider opening at leastone new location. The year before only 44% of spaces reported that.For small coworking spaces (with 29 members or less) it is just theopposite.
  3. Coworkers may prefer smaller spaces, but thesize of a coworking space is not a definitive reason to leave. Thereason, that members leave a coworking space, is not only because aspace became bigger. In this respect, we couldnt find anydifferences. The probability of remaining in a coworking spacedecreased in both small and big.

3 rd global coworking survey (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. 71% of respondents said their creativity hadincreased since joining, and 62% said their standard of work hadimproved. Countering the common claim that coworking spaces can bedistracting, 68% said they were able to focus better, as compared to12% who said the opposite. 64% said they could better complete taskson time. 
  2. 53% of coworkers are freelancers, while theremainder are entrepreneurs, small company employees, big companyemployees, and 8% who describe themselves as none of the above (theproportion of other respondents has increased from 5%two years back to 8%, while entrepreneurs has fallen from 18% to14%). The proportion of female coworkers is growing, up from 32% in2010 to 38% today.
  3. More coworking spaces now report to be partof a network or chain. 79% are independent, while 5% are in afranchise, 6% are part of an association, and 10% are in a networkof spaces.

1st Results of the 3rd Global Coworking Survey

2012

First Results Global Coworking Survey 2011

2011

First coworking survey

Emergent Research Coworking Survey

2018

US Coworking Forecast 2018-2020

Highlights:

  1. The forecast average annual growth rate forU.S. spaces over the period under discussion (2017 - 2022) is, byuniversally accepted coworking standards, a moderate 9%. 
  2. The recorded annual growth rate isrelatively slower than the globally expected rate of growth ofgrowth in spaces, which stands at 16.1% over the given period oftime. The slower rate is recorded is as a result of the progressivematuring of the U.S. market.
  3. Due to the consistent increase in size ofcoworking spaces and results in the number of U.S. coworking membersdoubling up over the period, member growth is projected to increaseby a whopping 14.7% average annual growth rate. 

The Importance of the Social Side of Coworking

Highlights:

  1. 87% of respondents report that they meetother members for social reasons, with 54% saying they socializewith other members after work and/or on weekends.
  2. 82% of respondents reported that coworkinghas expanded their professional networks.
  3. 64% said their coworking networking was animportant source of work and business referrals

2017

Coworking Is About Feeling Less Lonely

Highlights:

  1. 87% of respondents reportthat they meet other members for social reasons, with 54% sayingthey socialize with other members after work and/or on weekends
  2. 79% said coworking hasexpanded their social networks
  3. 83% report that they are lesslonely since joining a coworking space

2017 Coworking Forecast

Highlights:

  1. An average annual growth rate of 16.1% wasprojected to be observed between the years 2017 to 2022. Speaking interms of numbers, the number of coworking spaces is expected todouble up within the given time frame.
  2. Ata significant annual growth rate of 24.2%, the number of coworkingmembers is expected to grow faster than the number of coworkingspaces. It is pertinent to conclude that there will bea steady increase in coworking members per unit working area.
  3. Standing at a fair rate of 15%, the maturecoworking markets found in the US and in some parts of Europe areexpected to grow slower than global markets within the given periodof time.

2016

2016 Coworking Forecast

Highlights:

  1. The expected number of global coworkingmembers is projected to increase from around 976,000 in 2016 to alittle over 3.8 million in 2020. This represents a 41% compoundedannual growth rate.
  2. The number of spaces is expected to grow 18%in 2020, this is a staggering difference from the 41% growth rate in2016. This development partially reflects the emergence of largerspace sizes. However, it reflects a maturing market and brings tofore, the challenges associated with rapid growth as an industrygets bigger.
  3. The 2016 forecast is the most promising withreasonable projections, as opposed to those of 2014 and 2015 whichboth ended up low on target.

2015

Coworking by the numbers (PDF)

Highlights:

  1. 68%of respondents reported they improved their existing skill set whilebeing coworkers.
  2. 90%reported being either highly satisfied (79%) or satisfied (11%) withtheir coworking space. Only 5% reported being dissatisfied.
  3. 95% saidlocation was very important (68%) or important (27%). 0% said it wasnot important.

GCUC infographic: coworking leads to awesomeness

Highlights:

  1. 67% of the respondents experienced improvedprofessional success.
  2. 80% of respondents turn to other members forhelp and guidance.
  3. 78% of the respondents stated that they wereable to maintain their sanity through coworking.

Coworking spaces are human spaces

Highlights:

  1. The major discovery happened to be thatwhile coworking spaces are definitely workspaces, they are also muchmore. They are places where members work and assist other members,network with other members, learn and socialize together.
  2. A survey conducted among coworking membersportrayed that women were better collaborators than men. They werediscovered to be quick to seek the help of colleagues and possesseda generally high regard for access to conference rooms.
  3. An impressive 64% of coworking membersindicated that their networking with other coworkers was a source ofwork on its own. This mean that coworking is one good way to tackleunemployment.

2014

Coworking Forecast: 1 Million Coworkers in 2018

Highlights:

  1. The number of coworking facilities, whichhad been on a steady climb rate was projected to slow down, evenwhen it was expected to increase at a strong average annual growthrate of about 30% in the five years that follow.
  2. The number of coworking members was largelyexpected to grow at very fast rates. This phenomenon can beattributed to the increase in the number of coworking members perworking space. The increase was as a result of coworking facilityoperators aggressively maximizing the available space in order tocater for more coworkers.
  3. The total global coworking membership wasprojected to grow at about 40% per year over the next 5 years and tohave exceeded 1-million-member mark in the year 2018.

Other

National and Local Surveys

Coworking spaces and other businesses

PS: If you have any stats that Ive not included here, send me the link :)

Academic Research Papers About Coworking

CoworkingStats & Surveys