Working from home statistics: How many people work from home?

40% of people in the UK work from home at least some of the time.

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Sophie Barber

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Matthew Boyle

Updated

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39% of Brits, approximately 22.1 million people, work from home at least some of the time. Alongside traditional money tips like saving regularly or using a bank switching offer, working from home can save you on commuting costs.

Working from home statistics: Highlights

  • 2 in 5 Brits (39%) work from home at least some of the time as of June 2026, which is around 22.1 million people.
  • 14% of Brits work exclusively from home, while a quarter (25%) are hybrid workers.
  • Those aged 30-49 are most likely to work from home some or all of the time, with half (51%) doing so.
  • 60% of the UK’s adult population worked from home during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020.
  • If you travelled to and from work every working day with the average commute, you’d spend 8 days, 21 hours and 44 minutes commuting in a year.

How many people work from home?

An estimated 22.1 million Brits, or 39% of the population, work from home at least some of the time as of June 2026. 14% work from home all the time, while 25% are hybrid workers who split their time between home and travelling to work. 42% of adults travel exclusively to work and do not work from home.

Our research found that 60% of the UK’s adult population worked from home during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020.

Working habits Percentage Estimated number of people
Work only from home 14% 7.9 million
Hybrid workers 25% 14.2 million
Travel to work 42% 23.8 million
Didn't travel to work or work from home 19% 10.8 million
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Working from home and hybrid working by age group

Brits aged 30-49 are most likely to work from home, with 18% of people in this age bracket working exclusively from home and 31% hybrid working.

Excluding those aged 70+, The youngest age group, aged 16-29, are least likely to work from home, with 8% working from home all of the time, and 21% hybrid working.

Age group Only work from home Work from home and travel to work Travel to work Didn't work from home or travel to work
16-29 8% 21% 53% 18%
30-49 18% 31% 38% 13%
50-69 12% 22% 47% 19%
70+ 13% 4% 10% 74%

High earners are more likely to hybrid work

According to research in 2023, the likelihood of working remotely increases with the average income. More than a quarter (27%) of those earning £50,000 or more a year worked from home all of the time. At the other end of the spectrum, less than 1 in 10 (8%) of those earning less than £10,000 worked remotely.

Hybrid working was also more popular among high earners, with 53% of those earning £50,000 or more, 38% of those earning £40,000 or more and 33% of those earning £30,000 or more split their time between home and a place of work.

Income bracket Travel to work Hybrid workers Work from home
Up to £10,000 87% 5% 8%
£10,000 up to £15,000 76% 12% 12%
£15,000 up to £20,000 71% 16% 13%
£20,000 up to £30,000 64% 23% 13%
£30,000 up to £40,000 51% 33% 16%
£40,000 up to £50,000 40% 38% 21%
£50,000 or more 20% 53% 27%

What is the average commute time in the UK?

The average commute in the UK is 28 minutes. Over a day, this is almost an hour (56 minutes). If you travelled to work every day in 2024 with the average commute time, excluding holidays and weekends, you would spend 8 days, 21 hours and 44 minutes commuting.

While some people are still working from home and others are hybrid working, more than half of adults (56%) are still travelling to work and, therefore, will be spending a significant amount of their time on the daily commute.

The average cost of commuting to work around the UK

We’ve calculated the cost of commuting to and from work and buying lunch, so you can see how much you would be spending if you travelled to work every day.

Across the UK as a whole, the average commuter will spend an impressive £1,964 a year on travel and lunch costs. This is 7% of the average income for a UK worker!

Although it’s the biggest financial hub in the UK, London is also the most expensive region for commuting. The average person would spend £3,076 on travelling to work and buying lunch over a year.

Meanwhile, people in the North East of England spend much less on commuting to work, with the average yearly spend at £1,665. You can see the full regional breakdown and interactive map below.

Of course, these are just estimates and your personal commuting costs could be different, but it gives an idea of how much you could be shelling out.

Region Yearly total spend Yearly take-home pay Commuting to work as a percentage of take-home pay
London £3,075.93 £32,747.20 9.4%
South East £1,906.08 £30,126.40 6.3%
East of England £1,824.64 £29,471.20 6.2%
West Midlands £1,821.12 £27,505.60 6.6%
South West £1,784.47 £27,942.40 6.4%
North West £1,780.14 £27,396.40 6.5%
Yorkshire and The Humber £1,779.54 £26,777.60 6.6%
East Midlands £1,747.68 £27,068.80 6.5%
Scotland £1,746.07 £29,325.60 6.0%
Wales £1,703.01 £26,923.20 6.3%
North East £1,664.71 £26,122.40 6.4%
UK average £1,964.37 £28,597.60 6.9%

Sources

Methodology

Finder established the most popular method of commuting in each region of the UK and combined this with the average time spent commuting in each area to determine how much would be spent on travel.

The popular method of commuting in most regions of the UK, and the UK as a whole, is by car. The average journey times to work in each region and average petrol prices were then used to calculate the cost of commuting. The exception to this is London, where the majority of people travel to work by train, so we calculated the average yearly train costs instead.

Finder used the average cost of a meal deal to work out how much employees might spend on an affordable lunch each day.

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact –

Sophie Barber
Communications Manager

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Sophie Barber is a senior content marketing manager for Finder in the UK. She has over 5 years experience in writing and publishing clear, concise and informative articles that help consumers make informed decisions. See full bio

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Sophie has written 97 Finder guides across topics including:
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Matthew Boyle is a banking and mortgages publisher at Finder. He has a 7-year history of publishing helpful guides to assist consumers in making better decisions. In his spare time, you will find him walking in the Norfolk countryside admiring the local wildlife. See full bio

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Matthew has written 210 Finder guides across topics including:
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