Trending Term Time: Zoom Towns are the New Boom Towns

It shouldn’t surprise us that, as telework grows, many people are looking for homes in eminently livable communities. Home is, after all, where remote workers spend the bulk of their time. Housing markets that are booming as remote work takes off now have a catchy name: Zoom towns.

Zoom towns are often vacation spots – small towns and mid-size cities with (relatively) affordable homes. Boise, Idaho. Roanoke, Virginia. They’re typically towns near plentiful outdoors and leisure opportunities. Burlington, Vermont. Butte, Montana. Almost anywhere in Colorado. Remote workers are looking for more space and more privacy. Some Zoom towns are like Cary, North Carolina, or Lewisburg, Tennessee, both of which are smaller communities easily accessible from nearby larger cities.

Zoom towns might seem like a phenomenon of the American West, but a recent study by ownerly.com rated Lebanon, York, and Lancaster as three of the top five cities in the nation for remote work. Lebanon, in fact, took the top spot based on its affordable housing, choice in broadband access, and green space.

Regardless of location, Zoom towns are an early sign of what promises to be a tremendous set of pandemic-driven impacts on land use patterns and demands on us as community planners. APA PA plans to examine these throughout our 2022 visits to your inbox. We also want to hear from you about the topics and questions most relevant to your work, as well as what you’re seeing on the ground in Pennsylvania. Look for a survey soon!