Remote working: How a surge in digital nomads is pricing out the world's local communities

The US alone accounts for 16.9 million digital nomads with up to 72 million considering becoming nomadic. This covid-induced rise in remote working is a global phenomenon, which means figures for digital nomads beyond the US may be similarly high.

In the US, the number of salaried nomads — full-time employees now working fully remotely — is estimated to have gone from 3.2 million in 2019 to 11.1 million in 2022. File picture

For eight years I have studied digital nomadism, the millennial trend for working remotely from anywhere around the world. I am often asked if it is driving gentrification.

Before covid upended the way we work, I would usually tell journalists that the numbers were too small for a definitive answer. Most digital nomads were travelling and working illegally on tourist visas. It was a niche phenomenon.