Return-to-office momentum among Atlanta’s Fortune 500 companies outpaces national average

–Metro Atlanta is home to several Fortune 500 companies that either own their office space or lease as a single tenant occupier. Most of these companies transitioned to a fully remote work model during the pandemic but have implemented return to office (RTO) policies to further boost office attendance in the last few years.

–Since 2023, Atlanta’s Fortune 500 companies have outpaced Metro Atlanta and the national average in terms of office visitation. Currently, Atlanta’s Fortune 500 companies’ offices are seeing 72.5% of pre-pandemic attendance, which is significantly higher than Metro Atlanta at 64.9% and the national average at 64.7%, according to Avison Young’s Office Busyness Index.

–The high attendance levels indicate these companies value having their employees in the office, which sets a strong precedent for other Atlanta businesses. As companies continuing to recommit to their existing space (for example, AGCO renewing their 125,800 square-foot lease in Duluth earlier this month), and limited new sublease space comes on the market, visitation is anticipated to continue to increase into 2026, resulting in heightened office leasing activity.