Guide · Return to office
Is going back to the office worth it?
Your employer wants you back three days a week, or five. Your salary stays the same, but the job now costs you more and takes more of your week. Here’s what that does to your pay for each hour you give it, city by city.
What changes when you go back
A return-to-office mandate rarely touches your salary. It changes the two things a salary ignores:
- Money. Each office day brings fares or fuel, plus the spending that comes with a day away from home: lunches, coffee, clothes you wouldn’t otherwise need.
- Time. Each office day adds a round trip. Unlike the hours in your contract, nobody pays you for it.
So the same salary has more taken out of it and is spread over more hours. The result is a lower real hourly wage: what you keep, divided by every hour the job takes.
What it does to your pay per hour
Take a job at each city’s typical salary, reached by public transit, with the same paid hours and no unpaid overtime. Only the number of office days changes:
| City | Remote | 3 days | 5 days | Pay cut at 5 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $29.58 | $25.31 | $22.96 | 22% |
| San Francisco | $34.48 | $29.82 | $27.19 | 21% |
| Chicago | $26.93 | $23.20 | $21.14 | 21% |
| Austin | $29.02 | $25.30 | $23.24 | 20% |
| US average | $27.34 | $23.66 | $21.63 | 21% |
| Toronto | $27.60 | $23.12 | $20.72 | 25% |
| Vancouver | $27.50 | $22.64 | $20.09 | 27% |
| London | £19.76 | £16.57 | £14.83 | 25% |
Real hourly wages, in each city’s currency, as of 23 Oct 2026. “Pay cut” is how much less each hour pays at five office days than fully remote. Each city page lists its sources.
That last column is the point. Going back full time is the same, per hour, as taking a pay cut of that size, while your pay slip doesn’t change at all. Three days a week, a common hybrid arrangement, already takes you a good part of the way there.
The raise that would make up for it
If you’re asked back, the fair question is how much the job would have to pay to leave you as well off per hour as working from home. That’s its break-even salary:
| City | Typical salary | Even at 3 days | Even at 5 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $86,310 | $100,144 (+16%) | $109,367 (+27%) |
| San Francisco | $100,220 | $115,000 (+15%) | $124,853 (+25%) |
| Chicago | $73,380 | $84,603 (+15%) | $92,085 (+25%) |
| Austin | $74,580 | $85,168 (+14%) | $92,226 (+24%) |
| US average | $69,770 | $80,128 (+15%) | $87,034 (+25%) |
| Toronto | $71,629 | $84,705 (+18%) | $93,423 (+30%) |
| Vancouver | $70,443 | $84,595 (+20%) | $94,030 (+33%) |
| London | £49,692 | £58,592 (+18%) | £64,526 (+30%) |
This uses the same effective tax rate for the higher salary. Extra pay is taxed at your marginal rate, so the real break-even is somewhat higher. How the break-even salary works.
A worked example in Toronto
At Toronto’s typical salary of $71,629, a fully remote job pays $27.60 for each hour it takes. Asked back three days a week, travelling by TTC, that falls to $23.12. At five days it’s $20.72: 25% less for every hour, on exactly the same pay slip.
To come out even at five days, the job would need to pay about $93,423, a raise of 30%. It’s worth knowing that number before the conversation, even if you don’t ask for all of it.
What each office day is worth
If the policy isn’t final, or isn’t enforced evenly, the days themselves are worth negotiating. Here’s what one office day a week adds over a year:
| City | Costs you a year | Hours a year |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $728 | 88 |
| San Francisco | $1,007 | 75 |
| Chicago | $593 | 86 |
| Austin | $411 | 86 |
| US average | $520 | 86 |
| Toronto | $707 | 95 |
| Vancouver | $801 | 104 |
| London | £634 | 87 |
Transit fares, plus an estimate of other office-day spending such as lunches, in each city’s currency.
Things worth asking for:
- One day fewer. Each day a week you keep at home is worth the figures above, every year.
- Help with the commute. A transit pass, parking, or a pre-tax commuter benefit or season-ticket loan, where your employer offers one.
- Flexible hours. Travelling outside the rush can shorten the same journey and give part of the day back.
- A raise that reflects the new deal. The break-even table gives you a sourced figure to start from.
What the numbers leave out
The real hourly wage measures money and time, not everything a job gives you. Some people learn faster beside colleagues, and some careers move faster in an office. For others, childcare or health makes the commute far harder than these averages suggest. Use the numbers to see the trade clearly, then decide what it’s worth to you.
Your own salary, fares and journey may be very different from these city averages. The calculator lets you enter yours and compare remote with office side by side.