Digital nomadism has become a substantial but inconsistently measured form of mobile work. In 2025, an estimated 18.5 million U.S. workers were digital nomads, while survey definitions still vary across studies and countries.
Key Digital Nomad Statistics
The following figures summarize the most useful measures across participation, demographics, mobility, work and policy:
- 18.5 million U.S. workers were digital nomads in 2025, according to a survey-based estimate.
- U.S. digital nomad numbers were 153% higher in 2025 than in 2019, based on repeated MBO survey estimates.
- Digital nomads represented approximately 12% of the U.S. workforce in 2025, using MBO’s definition and denominator.
- Traditional-job digital nomads reached 11.2 million in the United States in 2025, a survey estimate.
- Independent digital nomads numbered 7.3 million in the United States in 2025, down from 7.9 million in 2024.
- Gen Z and Millennials together represented 75% of U.S. digital nomads in 2025, based on MBO cohort shares.
- 56% of surveyed U.S. digital nomads were men in 2025, while 43% were women and 1% identified as nonbinary.
- 39% of U.S. digital nomads expected to travel only within the United States in the following year, in MBO’s 2025 forward-looking survey.
- 83% of U.S. digital nomads reported being early adopters of technology in 2025, a self-assessed characteristic.
- 85% of U.S. digital nomads said their work depended on digital connections and technology in 2025, according to the survey.
- 89% of U.S. digital nomads reported using artificial intelligence in their work in 2025.
- 54% of U.S. digital nomads held a college degree or higher in 2025, compared with 35% of U.S. adults in the cited comparison.
- 93% of current U.S. digital nomads said they would definitely or maybe continue nomadic work in 2025, combining definite and possible continuation.
- 19%–22% of digital nomads were estimated to return to a more traditional lifestyle each year, according to MBO’s annual estimate.
- 64 countries had created digital-nomad visas by 2025, according to MBO’s country count.
- Remote jobs accounted for 18.4% of paid LinkedIn job postings in May 2022, up from 2.9% in January 2020.
Contents
- Digital nomad population and growth in the United States
- Digital nomad demographics and worker types
- Digital nomad travel frequency and stay patterns
- Digital nomad work, technology and education data
- Digital nomad outcomes, duration and continuation
- Digital nomad visas, nationalities and remote-work trends
Digital Nomad Population and Growth in the United States
Digital nomad counts are estimates rather than administrative totals. MBO’s 2025 findings came from a June 2025 online-panel survey of 6,575 U.S. residents, including 1,178 current digital nomads, weighted to U.S. demographics; its criteria included spending at least 30% of the year traveling and visiting at least three locations in the prior year, excluding the primary residence. MBO’s 2025 Digital Nomads Trends Report describes the methodology and results.
| Measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. digital nomads | 2025 | 18.5 million |
| Change in U.S. digital nomads | 2019–2025 | 153% increase |
| Share of U.S. workforce | 2025 | Approximately 12% |
| U.S. digital nomads | 2023 | 17.3 million |
| U.S. digital nomads | 2024 | 18.1 million |
The 2025 estimate was 2.2% higher than the 2024 estimate, while the longer comparison with 2019 showed a 153% increase. MBO also projected that 65 million non-nomadic adult Americans would say yes or maybe to becoming digital nomads in 2025, but estimated that only about 6%–8% of aspiring or possible future nomads actually make the transition based on prior studies.
The 2024 MBO report counted 72.7 million U.S. independent workers overall, a broader population than digital nomads. The 2024 State of Independence in America Report reported 20% growth in independent digital nomads and a 5% decline in traditional-job digital nomads in 2024.
Earlier evidence helps show how definitions and estimates have changed. A peer-reviewed study reported that the 2019 MBO estimate included 4.1 million independent and 3.2 million traditional digital nomads, while another 16.1 million Americans aspired to become digital nomads; aspiration is not participation. In search of a digital nomad: defining the phenomenon also emphasizes that survey counts should be treated as estimates.
Digital Nomad Demographics and Worker Types
The U.S. 2025 estimate separates nomads by work arrangement and provides age, gender, relationship and racial-composition measures. These are survey shares, and some categories are affected by rounding or non-mutually-exclusive responses.
| Group or characteristic | Period | Share or count |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional-job digital nomads | 2025 | 11.2 million |
| Traditional-job digital nomads | 2024–2025 | 10% increase from 10.2 million |
| Independent digital nomads | 2024–2025 | 7% decline, from 7.9 million to 7.3 million |
| Gen Z | 2025 | 35% |
| Millennials | 2025 | 40% |
| Married or living with a partner | 2025 | 54% |
MBO’s 2025 report found that Gen Z represented 35% of U.S. digital nomads and Millennials 40%, making the two cohorts 75% together. In its 2019 data, less than 1% of digital nomads were Gen Z, so the cohort comparisons should be read as survey findings rather than a harmonized demographic time series.
Gender shares in the 2025 survey were 56% men, 43% women and 1% nonbinary. The report also stated that 55% or more of U.S. digital nomads were aged 55 or older in its 2025 age grouping; the source’s subgroup wording should be retained when interpreting that figure.
African American digital nomads represented 27% of the 2025 MBO sample, up from 21% in 2023 and 13% in 2020. Respondents could select multiple racial categories, so these shares are not mutually exclusive and should not be added as a complete population distribution.
Digital Nomad Travel Frequency and Stay Patterns
Travel intentions and observed movement are different measures. In MBO’s 2025 forward-looking survey, 39% of U.S. digital nomads expected to travel exclusively within the United States during the following year, 4% expected to spend the entire year outside the United States, 37% planned more time in the United States and less time abroad, and 17% planned more international travel.
A 2024 peer-reviewed literature review reported secondary survey evidence on how often self-identified digital nomads move. More than 50% typically visited one or two countries per year, about 30% moved across three to five countries, and less than 20% visited more than five countries annually.
The same review reported a newer survey of 1,400 respondents: 55% traveled every three months, while about 33% traveled every month to every three months. These figures come from secondary reporting and varied digital-nomad definitions, not a global census. Digital nomadism from the perspective of places and mobilities discusses the travel-pattern evidence and definition ambiguity.
Digital Nomad Work, Technology and Education Data
Digital connectivity is central to the measured experience of U.S. digital nomads. In 2025, 85% said their work depended on digital connections and technology, 83% described themselves as early adopters of technology, and 78% said technology made them more competitive in their work.
| Work or education measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Earn money in the creator economy | 2025 | 49% |
| Use artificial intelligence at work | 2025 | 89% |
| Intermediate AI users | 2025 | 46% |
| Advanced AI users | 2025 | 42% |
| College degree or higher | 2025 | 54% of nomads; 35% of U.S. adults |
| Advanced degree | 2025 | 19% of nomads; 13% of U.S. adults |
The same MBO survey found that 49% reported earning money in the creator economy. It also found that 88% described themselves as intermediate or advanced AI users, composed of 46% intermediate and 42% advanced users; these are self-assessed proficiency levels, and the source did not state an intensity threshold for AI use. MBO’s 2025 report provides the survey comparisons.
A separate UNWTO brief reported that 34% of digital nomads in cited Nomad List/Statista panel data worked as freelancers or independent contractors. The panel is not a global census, so this work-status figure should not be merged directly with MBO’s U.S. estimates. UNWTO Brief – Digital Nomad Visas identifies the external panel basis.
Digital Nomad Outcomes, Duration and Continuation
Most current U.S. digital nomads surveyed by MBO expected to continue, but the result measures intention rather than observed retention. In 2025, 58% said they would definitely continue and 35% said they might continue, for a combined 93% who would definitely or maybe remain digital nomads.
Duration data show both recent entry and persistence. In the 2025 survey, 73% said they had been digital nomads for three years or less, while 11% reported more than five years; the categories are self-reported and rounded.
MBO estimated that 19%–22% of digital nomads return to a more traditional lifestyle each year. Among former digital nomads, 83% said they would return in the future either definitely or maybe, combining 25% who said definitely and 59% who said possibly, with rounding noted by the source.
Traditional employment can create policy and transparency issues. Among U.S. digital nomads with traditional jobs, 13% said their employers were unaware they were nomadic, while 18% said their company had no digital-nomad policy but their boss permitted nomadic work; both measures are self-reported. MBO’s 2025 report provides these continuation and workplace findings.
Digital Nomad Visas, Nationalities and Remote-Work Trends
Visa programs provide one policy indicator of the phenomenon’s growth. MBO counted 64 countries with digital-nomad visas in 2025, although the total depends on its visa definition and country classification.
The UNWTO brief’s cited Nomad List/Statista panel data placed the United States at approximately 52% of the panel, followed by the United Kingdom at 8%, the Russian Federation at 5%, Canada at 4%, and Germany and France at 3% each. These are panel shares rather than nationality totals for a registered global population.
| Panel nationality | Period reported | Share |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2023 brief | Approximately 52% |
| United Kingdom | 2023 brief | 8% |
| Russian Federation | 2023 brief | 5% |
| Canada | 2023 brief | 4% |
| Germany | 2023 brief | 3% |
| France | 2023 brief | 3% |
UNWTO Brief – Digital Nomad Visas reports the panel nationality figures and their limitations. The shares should not be interpreted as a complete global distribution because the underlying panel is not a population register.
Remote-work demand also expanded on LinkedIn, though platform measures are not equivalent to digital-nomad participation. The OECD reported that remote jobs were 18.4% of paid LinkedIn job postings in May 2022, up from 2.9% in January 2020, and that remote jobs attracted 53.5% of LinkedIn applications in May 2022.
Should OECD countries develop new Digital Nomad Visas? notes that the figures describe LinkedIn postings and applications, not all jobs, all remote work or the full labor market. Digital-nomad statistics therefore remain a collection of survey, panel, platform and policy measures rather than one harmonized global series.