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Placer.ai April 2025 Office Index: Recovery Apace

Find out how office visitation fared in April 2025.

By 
Lila Margalit
May 9, 2025
Placer.ai April 2025 Office Index: Recovery Apace
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The Placer.ai Nationwide Office Building Index: The office building index analyzes foot traffic data from some 1,000 office buildings across the country. It only includes commercial office buildings, and commercial office buildings with retail offerings on the first floor (like an office building that might include a national coffee chain on the ground floor). It does NOT include government buildings or mixed-use buildings that are both residential and commercial.
Key Takeaways
  • April 2025 visits to the Placer.ai Nationwide Office Index were down 30.7% compared to April 2019 (pre-COVID).
  • New York City saw the greatest recovery, with office foot traffic just 5.5% below pre-pandemic levels. 
  • Hybrid work remains prevalent even in cities leading the office recovery – in NYC, Tuesdays and Wednesdays were actually busier, on average, in April 2025 than in April 2019 – while Fridays remained slower.
  • San Francisco led in year-over-year (YoY) office visit growth, underscoring the impact of tech-sector return-to-office (RTO) mandates on the city’s recovery. 

With Google and Uber joining the ever-growing ranks of companies tightening remote work policies, employees across industries are being forced to spend more time in the office. But how much are office visit patterns really changing on the ground? Did the resurgence observed in March 2025 continue into April, or was it merely a brief reprieve from the slump seen earlier this year? 

Third-Busiest In-Office Month Since COVID

April 2025 emerged as the third-busiest in-office month since COVID, outpaced only by October and July 2024. And visits to the Placer.ai Nationwide Office Index were down just 30.7% compared to April 2019 (pre-COVID) – an improvement over April 2024. The upswing is especially notable given that Easter fell in April this year, whereas last year it fell in March. Though the holiday itself takes place on Sunday, many employees celebrate the occasion with a long weekend. 

April 2025’s strong performance suggests that despite setbacks in January and February, the office recovery is back on track, with further increases potentially ahead in the coming months. 

New York’s Near-Complete Recovery

A closer look at regional trends shows significant variation across major business hubs. New York City, long at the forefront of office recovery, nearly closed its post-pandemic office visit gap in April 2025, with visits just 5.5% below April 2019 levels. Miami also performed strongly, with visits down only 15.3%. Meanwhile, Atlanta and Dallas outperformed the national baseline (Dallas, just barely), while San Francisco once again took up the rear with Chicago.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are Back! (in NYC)

Drilling down deeper into the data for office recovery leaders, New York and Miami highlights the continued influence of hybrid work on office visitation trends, even as numbers approach pre-pandemic levels. 

Nationwide, office visits recovered most strongly mid-week. But this trend was especially pronounced in nearly-recovered NYC, where Tuesdays and Wednesdays were actually busier last month than they were during the same period of 2019 – and where Thursdays were essentially on par with April 2019 levels. Meanwhile, Fridays, and to a lesser extent Mondays, remained significantly below pre-COVID benchmarks. In Miami, too, it was midweek attendance that powered the office recovery – though Fridays rebounded more strongly in the Florida hub than in New York or nationwide. 

San Francisco Leads in YoY Growth

Turning to year-over-year (YoY) trends, San Francisco once again led in YoY office visit growth – suggesting that accumulating RTO mandates in the city’s tech sector may be fueling substantial recovery. Boston was not far behind, with visits up 7.4% YoY. And while most other cities also posted YoY visit growth, a few hubs – including Houston and Los Angeles – saw modest declines. 

Full Speed Ahead?

April 2025 data from the Placer.ai Office Index indicates that the renewed office recovery momentum seen in March 2025 is continuing apace – though hybrid work remains in full force. What lies ahead for offices in the months to come? 

Follow Placer.ai’s data-driven office recovery analyses to find out. 

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