Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
02/02/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/02/2026 13:19
The Work-from-home Wage Premium
Using administrative data from France, we document that within the same detailed occupation, industry, and commuting zone, workers who work from home earn on average 12% higher hourly wages than fully on-site workers. Approximately half of this wage premium is accounted for by observable worker characteristics (such as education, gender, and age) and firm characteristics (such as size and productivity). The remaining 6% wage premium largely reflects selection: workers who work from home after the COVID-19 pandemic already earned higher wages before the pandemic.
Suggested citation:
Huiyu Li, Julien Sauvagnat, and Tom Schmitz. 2026. "The Work-from-home Wage Premium." Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper 2026-02. https://doi.org/10.24148/wp2026-02
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco published this content on February 02, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on February 02, 2026 at 19:19 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]