--- title: "How to model occupancy cost per seat" description: "The single most useful normalised number in office economics — how to calculate it and how to use it." canonical: https://classa.info/guides/occupancy-cost-per-seat pageType: guide lastUpdated: 2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z license: "CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Class A Atlas (https://classa.info)." --- > Per-seat per-month USD cost cuts through every regional convention. ## TL;DR - Per-seat per-month USD cost cuts through every regional convention. - Include base rent, op-ex, taxes, fit-out amortisation, parking — not just face rent. - Density assumption (sqft per seat) materially shifts the result. - Use the Atlas's Occupancy Cost Calculator to produce this number consistently. # How to model occupancy cost per seat By The [Class A](/glossary/class-a) Atlas Editorial Desk · 2025-09-01T00:00:00.000Z · 9 min read **The single most useful normalised number in office economics — how to calculate it and how to use it.** ## TL;DR - Per-seat per-month USD cost cuts through every regional convention. - Include base rent, op-ex, taxes, [fit-out](/topics/fit-out-capex)">fit-out amortisation, parking — not just [face rent](/glossary/face-rent). - [Density](/glossary/density) assumption (sqft per seat) materially shifts the result. - Use the Atlas's Occupancy Cost Calculator to produce this number consistently. ## The formula Occupancy cost per seat per month USD = (annual base rent + annual op-ex + annual taxes + annual fit-out amortised + annual parking) × FX rate / headcount / 12. The Atlas's Occupancy Cost Calculator runs this directly with city-specific defaults. The defaults can be overridden line by line. ## Density matters 120 sqft per seat is the global Class A default. 150 sqft per seat is the executive average. 80 sqft per seat is the activity-based / fully hot-desked floor. A 10,000 sqft floor at 100 sqft/seat is 100 seats. At 130 sqft/seat it is 77 seats. Same rent — 30% different per-seat cost. Pick the density that matches your operating model and stress-test it. ## Editorial provenance Reviewed by [**Class A Atlas Editorial Desk**](/about/authors/class-a-atlas-editorial-desk) — House byline · global editorial team. Last updated 2026-04-01. See our [methodology](/about/methodology) and [editorial standards](/about/editorial-standards). ### Primary sources for this page - [CBRE Marketview reports](https://www.cbre.com/insights) — CBRE - [JLL Office Insight](https://www.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights) — JLL - [Cushman & Wakefield Marketbeat](https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/insights) — Cushman & Wakefield - [Savills World Research](https://www.savills.com/research_articles/) — Savills - [Colliers Global Office Outlook](https://www.colliers.com/en/research) — Colliers [Full sources index](/about/sources) · [Submit a correction](/about/corrections) ## Related topics - [**Class A Lease Negotiation**](/topics/class-a-lease-negotiation) — How to negotiate a Class A office lease — the playbook from LOI to signed deal. - [**Hybrid Workplace Strategy**](/topics/hybrid-workplace-strategy) — How to size, structure, and lease a Class A office for a hybrid workforce. - [**Lease vs Flex**](/topics/lease-vs-flex) — When premium flex (coworking, [managed office](/glossary/managed-office)) beats a conventional Class A lease — and vice versa. --- Citation: Source: Class A Atlas (https://classa.info/guides/occupancy-cost-per-seat), updated 2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z.