Manhattan Still One of the Best Coworking Markets in U.S., Despite Slight Shrink in Space

Manhattan is still making its mark on the coworking industry, even if that mark has shrunk a bit.

The borough ranked third nationwide in number of coworking venues for the third quarter of 2024, despite a slight dip in the coworking sector’s overall Manhattan footprint, according to a report from CoworkingCafe.

During the third quarter, Manhattan’s number of coworking venues increased 4 percent to a total of 275, behind only Los Angeles with 292 Spaces and Dallas with 279, the report found. Rounding out the top five were Washington, D.C., with 266 spaces and Chicago with 255.

Manhattan also has the largest coworking footprint in the country with a total of 11.2 million square feet, according to the report. That’s down from 2023 and a 6 percent decrease from 11.9 million square feet in the second quarter of 2024, according to the report.

A spokesperson for CoworkingCafe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition, Manhattan has the highest average size of coworking venues, with the average space ringing in at 40,597 square feet — a 10 percent decrease quarter over quarter, according to CoworkingCafe. In second and third place were San Francisco with an average of 29,397 square feet and Chicago with 26,068 square feet.

Not all of New York City’s boroughs seemed to fare well, however. Brooklyn saw a 15 percent drop in average coworking space size since the second quarter to 25,066 square feet, the report found.

Still, Manhattan remains the most expensive coworking market in the country, with monthly rates for open workspaces averaging $299 — almost double the national median of $150, according to the report. Rates for dedicated desks in Manhattan averaged $510, while the national median rent is $300 for that layout, CoworkingCafe found.

Nationwide, the coworking inventory increased by 7 percent by the end of the third quarter, reaching a total of 7,538 flex workspaces. Outside of the top five markets, cities such as Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Nashville, Tenn., all saw significant growth.

The leading coworking companies in the U.S. remained the same as in the second quarter, with Regus, WeWork (WE), Industrious, Spaces and HQ all leading in the highest numbers of coworking spaces on a national level, according to the report, which analyzed data from 25 markets in the country.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.