Coworking is considered by many to be an urban movement, with most coworking activity located in big cities.
But our recent census of U.S. coworking facilities shows that roughly 20% are located outside of the 50 most populated U.S. metropolitan areas (MSAs). And over 40% are outside the 10 most populated areas.
Examples of smaller cities with coworking facilities include Asheville (NC), Des Moines, Grand Rapids, Lincoln, Santa Cruz (CA) and Ft. Wayne.
We also found that a growing number of coworking facilities are located in suburbs – some well outside the urban core.
Altamont Coworking www.altamontcowork.com , for example, is located about 50 miles east of San Francisco in Tracy, CA. Another example is Satellite Coworking www.thesatelliteinc.com , located 31 miles south of San Jose in Felton, CA.
It will come as no surprise to those familiar with SF Bay Area traffic that both of these facilities stress the advantages of using their space instead of commuting.
Other suburban coworking facilities, such as Converge Coworking www.convergenj.com in Union, NJ, are located in closer-in suburbs.
The growing geographic diversity of coworking facilities reflects the broad appeal of the coworking movement.
Steve King is a partner at Emergent Research and is leading their current coworking study. www.coworkinglabs.com
Absolutely agree! We just started a coworking space in a town of 10,000 located an hour from Des Moines (listed as smaller here). The need is there, it is just on a different level.
We are thinking about starting a coworking space in South Jordan, UT. It is an affluent, family-oriented suburb. Are there similar areas where coworking spaces are thriving? It still seems that most are built on younger single professionals.
Not to put a bummer on this (thanks for the mention !) but not one current commuter has stepped foot in AltamontCowork. Not one. And Tracy, CA is commuter heaven. A lot more needs to be done so “telecommuting” (= “coworking”) becomes the norm rather than a “perk”. I rile about this a bit here: http://altamontcowork.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/telecommuting-coworking-telework/
On another note…a younger more vibrant citizen base is better. Bedroom communities (with older family types who NEED their jobs and a steady income) may not be the best places for coworking. I hope I’m wrong…but….