Two in Five City of London Residents ‘Mainly’ Work From Home

From the time we wake up to the extra costs it can create, how we get to work matters. But does where you live impact your likely method of transport? And if so, what does it mean for regional equality?

Moneyzine.co.uk has analysed data from the ONS to reveal how workers’ daily commute method varies between areas of the UK. The results are striking: while driving is relatively popular across most areas, Working From Home appears to be concentrated in wealthier areas.

How do Brits get to work?

A new study covering 330 Local Authorities across England and Wales asked residents about their commute methods. The most popular commute method was unsurprisingly driving, with an average of 22.17% of people using a car or van to get to work. This was most common in Cannock Chase (31.1%) and South Holland (30.38%), with the highest number of people driving in Birmingham (202,963) and Leeds (156,227).

Birmingham has the highest number of people walking to work (31,481) followed by Leeds (29,817).

In contrast, commuting by Train appears surprisingly unpopular. On average just 0.79% people get to work via train, with people in Bexley (4.94%), Lewisham (4.79%) and Bromley (4.61%) the most likely to do so. In terms of absolute number of train commuters, Croydon takes the top spot (17,229) followed by Bromley (15,214).

Cycling to work was most popular in Cambridge (8.12%) and the Isles of Scilly (6.28%). Buses and Coaches were used by 7.57% of people in Southwark and 6.65% in Lambeth. And 8.83% of people in the City of London and 7.17% in Brighton and Hove report walking to work.

But the most striking findings have to do with Working From Home (WFH).

The WFH divide

Despite headlines that promise a future of widespread WFH, just 14.57% of people currently say they ‘mainly’ WFH. Leeds has the highest total number of people working from home (126,586), followed by Birmingham (114,058). But when we look at a proportional breakdown, things start to look very different.

During the pandemic, many suggested that WFH would enable professionals to leave big cities where rent can be prohibitively expensive. Not only does this not appear to be the case, living in more expensive areas is actually highly predictive of WFH.

Of the local authorities where residents said they ‘mainly’ WFH, the top ten were all in London - and mostly in areas with high living costs. Nearly 42% of people in the City of London WFH, along with 32.87% of people in Wandsworth, 29.87% in Islington and 29.35% in Richmond upon Thames.

Conversely, 7 of the 10 areas with the lowest percentage of WFH were in the North, with 7% of people in Burnley, 5,.82% in Hull and 5.05% in Burnley telecommuting.

Local Authorities With The Highest Number WFH Employees

Local Authorities With The Lowest Number WFH Employees

This data suggests that how we talk about ‘The New Normal’ and the reality are very different. Working from home is still not widespread, and it is concentrated in wealthy areas.

Jonathan Merry, CEO of Moneyzine.co.uk