US Coworking Grew Again Last Quarter, Now Near 9,400 Locations

Growth is moving to secondary and tertiary markets

The country added 248 coworking locations last quarter, a 2.7 percent increase that brought the national total to 9,384 spaces, according to CoworkingCafe's Q2 2026 report. Total square footage grew more slowly, up 1.5 percent to 166.36 million square feet, which means the average coworking space is now smaller than it was a quarter ago, down from 17,945 to 17,728 square feet.

The reason is where the growth is happening. Large, established markets like Los Angeles, Manhattan, and Washington, D.C. saw modest gains or even small contractions in location count this quarter. The bigger moves came from second and third tier cities. Indianapolis grew 14 percent to reach 113 locations, Philadelphia added 13 spaces, and smaller markets like Salt Lake City, Portland, and Sacramento all posted steady gains. As the report puts it, momentum in the sector has not faded so much as relocated, moving from the biggest metros to markets where demand still outpaces supply.

Most coworking spaces are still independently owned

Despite headlines about national brands, coworking remains a fragmented industry. Regus holds the most locations at 1,285 nationwide, followed by HQ at 388 and Industrious at 190. Combined, the five largest operators run 2,184 of the country's coworking spaces. That leaves roughly 7,200 locations, about 77 percent of the total, in the hands of regional and independent operators.

Pricing stayed stable nationally, with the median membership dropping just a dollar to 219 dollars a month. But the report notes real variation by market, from 339 dollars in Manhattan down to 150 dollars in Columbus and Jacksonville, meaning an independent space competes on more than just price within its own region rather than against a single national rate card.

What this means for the people running these spaces

Coworking's growth is not being driven by a handful of big brands opening more locations in cities that already have plenty. It is being driven by hundreds of independent operators building smaller, community focused spaces in markets that were previously underserved. Those are exactly the operators for whom member community is the actual product, not an amenity attached to a desk rental.

For a community manager at one of these spaces, the report's numbers translate into a simple reality: the space competes on the strength of its community, not its square footage or its brand name. A directory that keeps members connected between events is a direct investment in the one thing an independent space can offer that a national chain usually cannot.