Briefing

The Postpandemic City: Urban Employment Centers and Commuting in the Fifth District


Abstract: Employer-reported data through 2023 reveal a divergence in postpandemic commuting patterns across four large metropolitan areas within the Fifth District. Washington, D.C., lost 1 percentage point of its metropolitan area's employment share to suburban destinations between the prepandemic period (2017-19) and the postpandemic period (2023), while Baltimore, Richmond and Charlotte all maintained or increased their cores' share. Washington's losses fall primarily on high-earning workers and are spatially concentrated in more distant suburbs.

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File(s): File format is text/html https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2026/eb_26-18
Description: Briefing

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Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Part of Series: Richmond Fed Economic Brief

Publication Date: 2026-06-05

Volume: 26

Issue: 18