diff --git a/pageserver/src/task_mgr.rs b/pageserver/src/task_mgr.rs
index cb1b2b8011..eabb1d0022 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/task_mgr.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/task_mgr.rs
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ pub(crate) static BACKGROUND_RUNTIME_WORKER_THREADS: Lazy<usize> = Lazy::new(||
     // else, but that has not been needed in a long time.
     std::env::var("TOKIO_WORKER_THREADS")
         .map(|s| s.parse::<usize>().unwrap())
-        .unwrap_or_else(|_e| usize::max(1, num_cpus::get()))
+        .unwrap_or_else(|_e| usize::max(2, num_cpus::get()))
 });
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]