2026 Placer.ai Office Index

The latest data on national and local office foot traffic trends.

May 2026 office visits fell 1.2 percent year-over-year on a raw basis, but when normalizing for the number of working days, attendance rose 3.7 percent year-over-year.

On a per-working-day basis, visits stood 32.4 percent below the May 2019 baseline—a narrower gap than the 34.9 percent recorded in May 2025.

San Francisco again led all major markets year-over-year on the back of its AI-driven office leasing recovery, while Denver remained the furthest from its pre-pandemic baseline.

May 2026 brought a fresh round of return-to-office pressure—PNC Financial’s five-day mandate took effect at the start of the month, while EY told its U.S. tax teams to plan for more in-person time this summer. Both join a growing list of employers tightening face-time policies. At the same time, gas prices climbed to an average of $4.61 in May, making the commute more expensive for employees who drive to work.

San Francisco leads the year-over-year pack 

The same calendar effect carried across the major markets, where most cities showed year-over-year declines on raw visits that turned positive once working days were accounted for. San Francisco led the year-over-year field, with per-working-day visits up 8.2 percent—tracking the city’s AI-driven leasing recovery. With its strongest leasing quarter this year since 2014, declining office availability, and robust net absorption, the city appears increasingly well-positioned to sustain its momentum...   ...more

RSK: Office attendance is up 3.7%....good news.