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The average U.S. coworker is young, male, well-educated, works in Tech, lives close to their coworking facility and is quite satisfied with coworking. This profile comes from an analysis by Emergent Research of the U.S. data from the 1st Global Coworking Survey - which were shared with Deskmag and other coworking groups as organizers of this study.
By Carl King - Monday, 31 January 2011

One of the most interesting findings from the survey is that, contrary to popular belief, freelancers are the minority – not majority – of the U.S. coworking population responding to this survey. Only 44% are freelancers or solopreneurs, while roughly 55% of respondents own or work for a company with employees.

Of those working for a company, 18% are entrepreneurs with employees and about 35% are company employees. This data shows that coworking facilities are becoming a popular place for starting and operating new businesses.

The survey also indicates that 8% of coworkers work for companies with more than 100 employees. Larger companies are starting to experiment with coworking, and this data reflects growing corporate awareness of coworking as a work option. This is consistent with previous research done by Emergent Research.

In the United States, coworkers tend to be young and male. Forty-one percent of coworkers are under the age of 30, and 78% fall under age 40. Only 8% of coworkers are over the age of 50.  About 2 out of 3 coworkers are male.

Yet while the average age of members is relatively low, their education levels are quite high. Seventy-five percent of coworkers have completed at least a Bachelors degree. This is a much higher level of education than the general U.S. population (27%), or even U.S. small business owners (50%).

Just like your neighborhood coffee shop, coworking facilities are filled with locals. Over 30% of coworkers either walk or bike to their coworking facility, and less than half (44%) drive.

Satisfaction seems guaranteed for coworkers in the United States. Almost all U.S. coworkers agree that their coworking experience has been positive. Ninety-one percent of coworkers are either very satisfied (57%) or satisfied (34%) with their overall experience, and 85% plan on staying in their current workspace for at least another year.

So what sorts of jobs do U.S. coworkers have? That answer is easy: Tech. The broad field of technology accounts for over half of U.S. coworkers responding to this survey. By segment, 44% of coworkers are Web Developers/Designers, 13% work in Public Relations and Marketing, and the other 43% are from a mix of professions including artists, entrepreneurs, journalists, and consultants.

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Author: Carl King is a research assistant at Emergent Research. He manages data collection and analysis for Emergent Research’s annual census of U.S. coworking facilities.

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All articles on the Global Coworking Survey:

Start: Why coworkers like their coworking spaces

Part 1: What coworkers want

Part 2: The Coworker's Profile

Part 3: The Coworking Space

Part 4: Female coworkers vs. male coworkers

Part 5: Coworkers in the U.S.

Part 6: MacOS vs. Windows - Firefox vs. Chrome

Part 7: Small Town vs. Big City Coworking

Part 8: The Non-Coworkers

Part 9: North America vs. Europe

Part 10: The changing needs of coworkers over time

ssfCoworking Statistics

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