San Francisco post-pandemic office visits low but rising

Data: Placer.ai; Note: Includes some offices located in cities' greater metropolitan areas; Chart: Axios Visuals

San Francisco is far from reaching its pre-pandemic office occupancy levels.

Driving the news: New data shows office occupancy in the city has barely breached 50% of pre-pandemic levels.

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By the numbers: In July 2024, office visits represented 52.7% of July 2019 levels, according to Placer.ai.

• The company analyzed foot traffic data from commercial office buildings in San Francisco, as well as some in the broader metropolitan area.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the city's lagging downtown foot traffic , there's a large disparity between San Francisco and other cities.

• Office visits in New York, for example, are at 89.6% of pre-pandemic levels.
• Nationwide, that figure is 72.2%.

Yes, but: We are still trending in the right direction, with office visits up 20.2% in July 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.

What we're watching: The city's office vacancy rate hit a new high last month, but it's expected to decline.

• As more companies sign or extend leases, we can expect in-person visits also to tick up.
• Meanwhile, the city's ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown could help to bring more workers into offices, city economist Ted Egan previously told Axios.